EA Bucks Industry Trend And Says It Has No Plans to Increase Video Game Prices

Publisher/ developer EA has confirmed it has nary plans to rise the terms of its games adjacent arsenic the likes of Microsoft and Nintendo leap to $80.

Addressing investors successful its latest fiscal call, CEO Andrew Wilson said the company's absorption was to "deliver unthinkable prime and exponential worth for our playerbase," specified arsenic its deed co-op escapade Split Fiction, which has present sold 4 cardinal copies.

"In presumption of pricing power, our concern is precise antithetic contiguous than it was adjacent conscionable 10 years ago," Wilson explained. "In a satellite wherever everything we did 10 years agone was astir selling shiny discs successful integrative boxes successful retail shelves — well, that’s inactive a part of our business, it’s a importantly smaller portion of our business, and we present person pricing representing everything from free-to-play each the mode to deluxe editions and beyond.

"At the extremity of the day, whether we're doing thing that costs a dollar, oregon we're doing thing that costs $10, oregon we're doing thing that costs $100, our nonsubjective is ever to present unthinkable prime and exponential worth for our playerbase," said Wilson. "And what we've discovered implicit the people of clip is [when] we tin wed prime and worth together, our concern is strong, resilient, and continues to grow."

"From a guidance position [...] we person reflected nary changes successful our existent [pricing] strategy astatine this point," added CFO Stuart Canfield.

It'll beryllium invited quality to some, fixed conscionable past week, Microsoft confirmed it was raising Xbox prices arsenic good arsenic expanding the outgo of controllers, headsets, and immoderate games. The terms hike for consoles and accessories has already taken effect, and portion crippled prices volition enactment the aforesaid for now, we should expect to spot Xbox charging $79.99 for new, first-party games astir the vacation season.

It follows a broader inclination successful AAA gaming that has seen prices jumping from $60 to $70 successful conscionable the past 5 years, and Nintendo going with $80 for upcoming Switch 2 exclusive Mario Kart World and immoderate different Switch 2 Edition games. The Switch 2 itself was precocious revealed to beryllium launching astatine $450, a terms that drew disapproval from Nintendo fans adjacent arsenic analysts admitted specified a precocious terms was apt inevitable amid existent economical conditions.

Given EA's comments, we tin expect the adjacent EA Sports FC, Madden, and Battlefield games to instrumentality to the $70 modular variation pricing.

Last week, IGN reported EA chopped astir 100 jobs astatine Apex Legend developer Respawn Entertainment, arsenic good arsenic making wider cuts crossed its organization, impacting astir 300 individuals successful all.

Vikki Blake is simply a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She's besides a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her astatine BlueSky.