Blog: EA

Read our latest daily deep dives, hot takes, and exciting updates about the entertainment world. Check out the latest insight from your favourite analyst, or search by coverage areas - music, entertainment and fandom, creator economy and social.

The unflattening of music

Mark Mulligan

30 Jan 2025

Cultural trends

Spotify

TikTok

[This post builds on two other recent MIDiA posts: Background music and What got you here ] At the half way point of the decade it is a good time to reflect on how the business of music is reshaping the culture of music – and where this is heading.

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Ban or no ban, what comes next for TikTok creators?

Hanna Kahlert

22 Jan 2025

Marketing Strategy

YouTube

TikTok

The TikTok ban saga continues. The official date of the ban saw the app go dark in the US and Canada, replaced by a notice that the law had come into effect. However, only a few hours later, the app came back online, with a new notice that thanks to the Trump administration’s willingness to work o...

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New research: What do gamers really think about generative AI in games?

Rhys Elliott

9 Jan 2025

take two interactive

Generative AI

Fandom

New year, new research! We capped off 2024 by asking a representative sample of gamers [n=6,300] how they feel about developers using generative AI to make games (and how it affects purchasing decisions).

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A fifth of gamers love couch co-op, so where are all the games?

Rhys Elliott

15 Nov 2024

console gaming

Couch co-op gaming, when two or more players in the same room play together co-operatively, already has some proven success stories: It Takes Two , a co-op-only platformer from EA studio Hazelight, has sold over 20 million copies.

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Collector’s editions are becoming a backdoor for monetising early access

Rhys Elliott

17 Apr 2024

Xbox

Xbox Game Pass

Ubisoft

Since publishers first increased AAA game prices from $60 to $70 in 2020, many people have asked MIDiA if publishers will raise that price further. Our answer: they already have – sort of, anyway. Via collector’s editions – more expensive versions of games with extra content – publishers are...

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Live services: Is the success of the few clouding the strategic judgement of the many?

Perry Gresham

19 May 2023

live services

microtransactions

EA are heavily committed to the live service model, with their earnings release for financial year ending March 2023 putting their share of games revenues from full game purchases at just 26%, meaning that 74% came from live services and other revenue sources.

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How DAZN is set to reboot global sports fandom

Tim Mulligan

27 Oct 2022

DAZN

UWCL

EA Sports

Hidden in the stream of high-profile broadcast rights announcements from DAZN this month was an announcement that EA sports will be DAZN’s now global sponsor of its UEFA Women’s Champion’s League (UWCL) broadcast coverage.

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EA’s exclusive FIFA license is under threat as games go cross-entertainment

Karol Severin

22 Oct 2021

FIFA

football

Last week it was reported that FIFA and EA are at an impasse regarding the renewal negotiations of an exclusive license deal. EA stated that it is considering renaming its flagship football title, while FIFA responded with a press release stating that “the future of gaming and esports for football...

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Is gaming the solution to sports’ Gen Z problem?

Alistair Taylor

8 Mar 2021

Gaming

Games

esports

It has been well-documented that Gen Z’s and Generation Alpha’s interest in watching live sports has waned . It is important to dispel the notion that the younger cohorts are less likely to engage with sports, but rather to appreciate that they just consume them differently .

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Why acquiring Codemasters is a double-edged sword for EA

Karol Severin

22 Jan 2021

licensing

Codemasters

EA’s portfolio is still heavily dependent on third party IP licenses EA’s revenue is heavily dependent on licensed IP titles. This includes FIFA, Madden NFL, NHL, as well as its whole Star Wars games portfolio.

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TwitchSports: Amazon throws sports into the starting line-up

Alistair Taylor

29 Jul 2020

Video

Sports

Games

Amazon-owned Twitch is no newcomer to sports. However, in a deliberate move to double down, Amazon has conceded that it needs to improve the discoverability of live sporting events for its platform users – so, as of last Wednesday, ‘Sports’ has become a standalone category with the return of T...

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Play for the World – EA Aims to Fill Void via FIFA Stay and Play Cup

Alistair Taylor

16 Apr 2020

activity gap

broadcast

Brondby

In 2003, FIFA updated its primary logo to include the words ‘For the Game. For the World.’ Fast forward 17 years and governments around the world are instructing their citizens to stay inside. Now it is almost as if Nike consulted FIFA on its latest marketing campaign ‘Play Inside, Play for th...

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App Bubble Update: Hit Mobile Game Publishers Are Running Out Of Steam

Karol Severin

12 Nov 2015

Activision

app bubble

app bubble burst

We pointed out the risks associated with the app economy being too dependent on a few hit apps back in 2014. The big question always was whether new titles of hit mobile game publishers could replicate or supersede the popularity of their previous hits, before users started becoming bored and invest...

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