EA sees revenue from sales of ‘extra content’ rise sharply

The quarterly figures of Electronic Arts show that the sale of additional content such as DLC earns the publisher more and more money. For the entire financial year, that was $1.12 billion, about a quarter of total revenue.

EA has released its fourth quarter financial year 2016 figures. This also means that the figures for the full financial year are known. EA’s full-year revenue was $4.4 billion, slightly down from $4.5 billion a year earlier. However, EA saw profits rise from $875 million to $1.2 billion. Converted about a billion euros.

EA generated more than $2.53 billion in digital sales. Almost half of that amount comes from the sale of additional content. This concerns, for example, season passes and individual DLC, but also the proceeds from Ultimate Team modes in games such as Fifa, Madden and NHL. They accounted for annual sales of $692 million. In the past quarter, EA generated revenue of $310 million from additional content. 26 percent more than the same quarter a year ago. On an annual basis, revenue from additional content increased by 21 percent.

In presenting the figures, EA emphasized that 54 million players were active in EA Sports games on consoles last year. That is 65 percent more than a year earlier. Star Wars: Battlefront is also still a success, the game has now been shipped 14 million times.

EA expects to be able to make more sales and profits in the new financial year. Battlefield 1 should take care of that, among other things. The trailer that announced the game has been received enthusiastically. In four days, the video has been viewed 21 million times, a record for EA.