Summary
Dragon Age: The VeilguardandEA Sports FC 25publisherElectronic Artswas primed for a pretty strong end to 2024, with both titles launching in October and September respectively. We know how much of a powerhouse the EA Sports FC franchise is, and the long-awaited return of the Dragon Age series was one of 2024’s most highly anticipated titles for many. Unfortunately for EA, things don’t seem to have gone as planned.
In the company’s quarterly earnings reports (shared by Bloomberg), EA has revealed that bookings actually fell to around $2.22 billion in its third quarter, which ended on December 31. EA had forecast bookings of between $2.4 billion to $2.55 billion, but those were missed due to the poor performance of both EA Sports FC 25 and Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard Player Count Missed EA Expectations By 50 Percent
According to Bloomberg, EA points to the performance of EA Sports FC 25 as the biggest cause of this loss in bookings, which was widely perceived by both critics and fans to bea fairly disappointing new entry in the series. It seems people are finally starting to get a little sick of paying full price for minor additions and squad changes.
More worryingly forBioWare, it also appears as though Dragon Age: The Veilguard missed the mark too. While it looked like pre-order numbers were very strong before launch, it was revealed that the game only managed to reach 1.5 million players across all platforms during the quarter, which fell below EA’s expectations by a whopping 50 percent.
Just like EA Sports FC 25, it didn’t help that Dragon Age: The Veilguard was highly contentious among both critics and fans upon release. It also launched in October, which was full of other high-profile releases, likeCall of Duty: Black Ops 6,Metaphor: ReFantazio,Silent Hill 2,Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, and the PC port ofRed Dead Redemption.
We’ll be getting more details about EA’s earnings in its third quarter on February 4, but it’s already looking bleak for BioWare. Having released back to back stinkers inMass Effect AndromedaandAnthem, it arguably needed Dragon Age: The Veilguard to be a big hit. That doesn’t appear to be the case, and you have to imagine thateven more pressure has now been piled on top of Mass Effect 5.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
WHERE TO PLAY
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the long-awaited fourth game in the fantasy RPG series from BioWare formerly known as Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. A direct sequel to Inquisition, it focuses on red lyrium and Solas, the aforementioned Dread Wolf.
