EA blames ‘underperformance’ of Dragon Age and EA FC25, as it lowers forecast

Electronic Arts has lowered its revenue forecast for its current business year, partly due to what it called the ‘underperformance’ of FC 25 and Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

EA’s initial guidance for its current fiscal year ending March 31 anticipated ‘mid-single-digit’ growth from its live service games, including FC 25. However, the company warned the market on Wednesday that it now expects a ‘mid-single-digit’ decline, with an FC 25 “slowdown” during the Christmas period accounting for the majority of the change.

Separately, EA said on Wednesday that Dragon Age: The Veilguard, released in October, “engaged” around 1.5 million players during the three months ended December 31, 2024, which it said was nearly half of its expectations.

EA now expects net bookings of around $2.21 billion for its third quarter and an updated range of $7-7.15 billion for the fiscal year, down from $7.5-7.8 billion.

“During Q3, we continued to deliver high-quality games and experiences across our portfolio; however, Dragon Age and EA Sports FC 25 underperformed our net bookings expectations,” said EA CEO Andrew Wilson.

“This month, our teams delivered a comprehensive gameplay refresh in addition to our annual Team of the Year update in FC 25; positive player feedback and early results are encouraging. We remain confident in our long-term strategy and expect a return to growth in FY26, as we execute against our pipeline.”

Stuart Canfield, CFO of EA, added: “We continue to balance investment for future growth with operational discipline, and remain committed to EA’s long-term financial framework. As we look to FY26, we expect to grow as we launch more of our iconic franchises.”

Dragon Age: The Veilguard was released in October for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Earlier this month, the game’s director, Corine Busche, confirmed she was leaving BioWare for an offer she “couldn’t turn down.”

EA Sports FC 25, meanwhile, received the franchise’s most significant mid-season gameplay overhaul to date last week, which included some of the most sought-after community requests, according to EA.