EA Defies Industry Trend: No Plans to Raise Video Game Prices

Electronic Arts (EA) has firmly stated that it will not follow the trend of increasing game prices, despite major competitors like Microsoft and Nintendo setting new standards at $80. During a recent financial call with investors, EA's CEO, Andrew Wilson, emphasized the company's commitment to providing "incredible quality and exponential value" to its playerbase, highlighting the success of their co-op adventure game, Split Fiction, which has sold an impressive 4 million copies.

Wilson elaborated on the evolution of EA's business model over the past decade, noting a shift from traditional retail sales to a diverse range of pricing strategies. "In a world where everything we did 10 years ago was about selling shiny discs in plastic boxes on retail shelves — well, that’s still a part of our business, but it’s a significantly smaller part," he said. Today, EA's offerings span from free-to-play games to deluxe editions, catering to different segments of their audience.

"Whether we're doing something that costs a dollar, or we're doing something that costs $10, or we're doing something that costs $100, our objective is always to deliver incredible quality and exponential value for our playerbase," Wilson reiterated. He underscored that this strategy, which combines quality and value, has proven to be robust, resilient, and conducive to growth.

EA's CFO, Stuart Canfield, reinforced this stance, stating that the company's current pricing strategy remains unchanged. This news will be welcomed by gamers, especially in light of Microsoft's recent announcement to raise Xbox prices, including controllers, headsets, and some games. Microsoft's price adjustments for consoles and accessories have already been implemented, with new first-party game prices expected to rise to $79.99 during the holiday season.

This move by Microsoft and Nintendo, which has set $80 as the price point for upcoming Switch 2 exclusive titles like Mario Kart World and other Switch 2 Edition games, reflects a broader trend in AAA gaming where prices have escalated from $60 to $70 over the past five years. The Switch 2's launch at $450 has also sparked debate among fans, although analysts have suggested that such pricing may be inevitable given current economic conditions.

Given EA's firm stance on pricing, fans can anticipate that the next iterations of popular titles like EA Sports FC, Madden, and Battlefield will maintain the $70 standard edition price point.

In other news, EA recently made headlines for cutting approximately 100 jobs at Apex Legends developer Respawn Entertainment, alongside broader organizational cuts affecting around 300 employees in total, as reported by IGN last week.