EA's Microtransactions Made An Absurd Amount Of Money
If you're like most people, you probably aren't a huge fan of microtransactions. That sentiment — though widely shared — doesn't seem to have an impact on their effectiveness, though. Gamers keep plunking down dough for skins, emotes, and card packs. And EA is making some serious bank as a result.
GameSpot managed to get its hands on a chart from EA's recent financial briefing, and the data tells a tale of a company in love with microtransactions. Between its live services on PC, console, and mobile, EA could've very well pulled in over $1 billion thanks to these piecemeal offerings. And that was just last quarter!
When compared to what the company grossed on full game downloads in that same period — around $317 million — you can see why just about every game EA puts out is filled to the brim with microtransactions. Not only that, you can see why they're probably never going away. They're way too lucrative.
Interestingly enough, one big EA game had no microtransactions
That's not to say all of EA's titles are ready to empty your pockets. One pretty big seller from last quarter didn't have any microtransactions at all — though why that was the case is still up for debate.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order managed to release in November without premium add-ons of any kind. There weren't special lightsaber colors for sale. You couldn't buy a brand new ship to fly around in. You couldn't even purchase XP boosts or other power-ups. It was a relatively clean experience, and that won the title a lot of praise... and a lot of sales. In fact, Jedi: Fallen Order exceeded expectations, according to GamesIndustry.biz.
Still, you have to wonder how much money EA would've made if the game did have microtransactions in it. EA is probably wondering that same thing, as well. Though the company was likely scared off the tactic due to the game's use of the Star Wars license — and the debacle surrounding microtransactions in Star Wars Battlefront 2 — you have to believe EA is thinking about all the potential cash it missed out on.
We hope EA continues operating from this middle ground, where some games occasionally pass on the practice. But the numbers don't lie; microtransactions bring far more money than the games themselves. Don't be surprised if you see even more of them in the future.