According to a recent report by Electronic Arts, makers of some of the biggest sports simulations in the world, such as FIFA, Madden and NHL, their games are reaching some of the highest player bases ever in no small part due to the international lockdowns resulting in more people playing games, as well as very limited traditional sports offerings on television due to most of the leagues being cancelled, postponed or at best being played behind closed doors.
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Apparently, FIFA 20 topped over 25 million peak players and Madden reached its highest engagement ever. EA CEO Andrew Wilson said in a statement, that he released with the report, that he was humbled to see people around the world connecting through games during this "unprecedented period".
Although, Wilson, played down the results being caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, clearly, however, with no sports to watch on television, many sports fans are playing video games instead.
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During this quarter, EA also launched its "Stay Home, Play Together" initiative in response to global lockdowns in order to bring players together when physical distancing is keeping people apart.
In total, over 100 million players engage globally with the FIFA franchise, and Wilson mentioned he is particularly impressed with the momentum FIFA Online has seen in Asia, significantly outperforming expectations.
Wilson also confirmed that there would be four new EA Sports titles coming in the remainder of the fiscal year (ending March 31, 2021). These would be new editions for FIFA, Madden, NHL and a yet to be announced sports game which we are all excited to get more information on. Speculation is rife on whether it will be a new edition to one of their existing franchises such as UFC or NBA live or if they have something entirely new waiting in development.
