In an industry where game prices are climbing faster than a speedrunner on launch day, Electronic Arts (EA) is taking a surprising stance: holding the line. While Microsoft and Nintendo have embraced the $80 price tag for their flagship titles, EA has announced it has “no changes” planned for raising the price of its games.
During the company’s latest financial call, CEO Andrew Wilson addressed the topic, emphasising EA’s commitment to delivering value to its players. With a focus on quality, the upshot is that things look like they’ll stay the same for the foreseeable, which is refreshing given the current direction of the industry.
In terms of pricing power, our business is very different today than it was even just ten years ago. In a world where everything we did ten years ago was about selling shiny discs in plastic boxes in retail shelves — well, that’s still a part of our business, it’s a significantly smaller part of our business, and we now have pricing representing everything from free-to-play all the way to deluxe editions and beyond.
Andrew Wilson, EA chief executive officer
At the end of the day, 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. And what we’ve discovered over the course of time is [when] we can marry quality and value together, our business is strong, resilient, and continues to grow.
From a guidance perspective, we have reflected no changes in our current strategy at this point,
It’s a deliberate move that runs counter to recent decisions by Microsoft and Nintendo, both of whom are embracing the $80 threshold as a new norm. Nintendo’s Switch 2 lineup is set to include first-party titles priced up to $79.99 USD, while Microsoft is following suit with its marquee releases, including future entries like Call of Duty and The Elder Scrolls VI.
Of course, that’s not to say EA is suddenly positioning itself as the champion of consumer value. The publisher has long mastered the art of ongoing monetisation, from Ultimate Team in its sports titles to battle passes in Apex Legends. But the fact it’s resisting an $80 base price, at least publicly, could be seen as a smart play in a market where rising costs are beginning to wear thin on consumer patience.
Much like Microsoft, EA has other sources of income to make up the difference, including revenue from its EA Play and EA Play Pro subscription services.
Whether this “no plans” position holds over the coming year is anyone’s guess. EA doesn’t have much on its slate right now, but Star Wars: Zero Company acts as something of a litmus test. If it launches at $69.99 while competitors go higher, it may highlight EA’s commitment – or simply confirm this is all temporary restraint. Who knows where we’ll be come the next Mass Effect.
With fewer titles emerging on the horizon after mass layoffs axing 300-400 jobs and cancelling an extraction shooter version of Titanfall, EA could very well change its mind to make up the difference. But for now, as rivals chase the $80 ceiling, EA is content to play the long game. And in today’s climate, that might be the savvier move.
