January 28 – A revised fiscal outlook and a stock market tumble suggest EA Sports might be losing its once-firm grasp on the billion-dollar football gaming industry.
Last week, EA shocked investors by downgrading its 2025 fiscal forecast from projected mid-single-digit growth in live-service net bookings – a vital metric for the company’s health – to an unexpected decline of the same magnitude.
That announcement sent EA’s stock plummeting nearly 17% in a single day, marking its worst 24-hour fall since 2008. The next 12 hours brought further gloom with an additional dip of 1.7%, leaving shares at $116.56.
The culprit? An underwhelming performance from EA Sports FC 25, the second installment of its post-FIFA football franchise. While initial reviews last September were favourable, gamers quickly discovered performance issues, prompting EA to release “the most significant mid-season gameplay overhaul in the company’s history” last week.
Wedbush analysts noted the sudden downturn “suggests the company was caught off guard by the shortfall and isn’t certain how to address it.”
For EA Sports, this is unfamiliar territory. The brand has dominated the football gaming scene for decades, fending off the challenge of Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer (now eFootball).
Yet a new rival is now emerging in UFL, a Cristiano Ronaldo-backed free-to-play football game that promises continuous updates, eliminating the need for annual re-purchases—a stark contrast to EA’s yearly installment model.
Even so, it’s not all doom and gloom for EA. Its EA Sports FC Pro eSports tournament has seen success, and its College Football 25 franchise recently became the best-selling sports video game in U.S. history. But football gaming, a global juggernaut for EA, now seems on shakier ground.
With alternatives gaining traction and EA scrambling to repair its flagship product, the company’s full third-quarter earnings report, scheduled for February 4, could provide critical insight into whether this stumble is a temporary setback—or the beginning of a changing tide in football gaming.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1738192208labto1738192208ofdlr1738192208owedi1738192208sni@g1738192208niwe.1738192208yrrah1738192208