EA Sports Stock Is OUT of The Game After FC 25 Disaster

EA Sports just got hit with a huge own goal. The gaming company, known for its reign over sports titles like Madden and FIFA, watched its stock plummet 17% in a single day after its latest soccer game, FC 25 totally flopped. (Guess “EA Sports… it’s out of the game” is feeling pretty on-brand right now.)

The backlash came hot. FC 25 became the punching bag of gamers across Instagram, with players roasting it for being boring, uninspired, and basically FIFA 24 in a cheap Halloween costume. Even EA’s notoriously optimistic internal forecasts couldn’t save it, and now the company’s in hot water trying to recover.

I mean, EA’s been the king of sports gaming for years. Madden NFL, FIFA, College Football… these names are practically synonyms for video games about sports. They’ve got the kind of licensing deals that other game companies dream about, and for good reason: the FIFA franchise alone has sold 325 million copies. 

But here’s the problem… they lost the “FIFA” name in 2022 after the global soccer powers decided to up the asking price to over $250 million a year. EA wasn’t having it, so they kicked FIFA to the curb and rebranded their soccer game to EA Sports FC.

People weren't thrilled with the rebrand, but at least it sold decently… it was down 5% from FIFA 23, but still brought in enough cash to make it feel like a win. Fast forward to this season’s entry, FC 25, and… well, let’s just say things took a turn. EA thought they could pull it off. They gave the game a fresh update, released it in September, and crossed their fingers. (Of course, it didn’t work.)

Players roasted FC 25 for being a money-grab. In-game mechanics were a yawn and they didn’t really add any new features. Big problem. It seems as if FC 25 has officially joined the ranks of EA’s other infamous flops… aka Madden. (If you’re picturing that “first time?” gallows meme, you’re not alone.)

The stock fell 17% after EA announced its FC 25 misfire, dragging down the company’s forecast for the rest of the year. They cut back their full-year bookings estimate from $7.5 billion to $7.15 billion. And considering that EA’s soccer franchise typically makes up nearly half of their total net bookings, this is a serious blow. 

Unfortunately it’s far more than just FC 25 causing all the pain. EA’s Dragon Age: The Veilguard (a roleplaying game launched in October) also underperformed. The game had only 1.5 million players, which is about half of what EA expected. 

Now, let’s be clear: EA’s not totally doomed. They’ve still got their Madden and College Football franchises, which have been killing it, especially after securing a truckload of NIL deals with college athletes. And their Madden NFL and College Football 25 games are still pumping out solid sales. But EA’s gonna have to find a new revenue source now that FIFA looks like it’s kicked the bucket.

Stocks.News has positions in EA Sports mentioned in article.