Apex Legends' Performance in the Holiday Quarter Was Lower than Expected

Electronic Arts has released preliminary financial results for the third quarter of 2023 (the period from October 1 to December 31, 2022).

EA's net bookings in the quarter were $2.3 million which reflects a 9% decrease compared to the same period in the previous year. The company attributes this to "tough comp" during the launch of Battlefield 2042 and the performance of Apex Legends. Despite this EA's operating income grew by a whopping 183% to $289 million.

EA notes that its live services and other net bookings for the trailing twelve months increased by 4% compared to the previous fiscal year and represent 75% of total net bookings. The company also boasted the growth of its player network which at the end of the quarter amounted to 650 million users.

The publisher claims that the latest title in its popular football simulator series, FIFA 23, is on track to become the most successful title in the franchise and notes that it generated record levels of engagement in the third quarter. However, the company didn't provide any exact figures.

During a financial call, EA CEO Andrew Wilson said that the company was pleased with the performance of its holiday season releases such as FIFA 23.

At the same time, he noted that Apex Legends' performance during this period didn't meet EA's expectations which marks the first time in a long time that the company doesn't highlight the success of the shooter. Still, Wilson is sure that the franchise will see a resurgence in engagement and that it will continue to grow.

Apparently, based on Apex Legends' lower-than-expected performance, EA adjusted its financial expectations for the full fiscal year from the previously-projected net revenue of $7.550-7.750 billion to $7.252-7.352 billion.

Earlier, it was reported that EA is shutting down the mobile version of Apex Legends. In a financial call, Wilson commented on the company's decision to cancel the game saying that "despite [the game's] strong start, the ongoing experience was not going to meet the expectations of [its] players."

"After months of working with our development partner, we have made the mutual decision to sunset this version of the game," he added. "We've learned a great deal and have plans to reimagine a connected Apex Mobile experience in the future."

You can find EA's report for Q3 2023 here. Also, don't forget to join our 80 Level Talent platform, our Reddit page, and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.