The latest EA investor relations call was held recently. Among other things, the publisher announced it plans on offering a system similar to Xbox Smart Delivery, where current-gen games are upgraded for free to their next-gen PS5 and Series X counterparts.
These remarks come from EA Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen, buried roughly near the end of the earnings report. Jorgensen said:
…this year the phasing [budget forecast] includes the effect of revenue recognition from the games we are launching for the current generation of consoles that can also be upgraded for free for the next generation.
How EA will implement this alleged upgrade remains to be seen, especially since Sony specifically hasn’t been 100% clear on how PlayStation 5’s backwards compatibility will work.
As EA Chief Executive Officer Andrew Wilson said, EA plans on releasing 14 new titles over the course of this fiscal year. These include games in the NHL, Madden, and FIFA franchises. No surprises there. But there’s another, unannounced sports title EA plans to release as well.
EA also plans on having its sports arm lead the company into next-gen, which basically means look forward to next-gen sports games from EA within the first year of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X launching.
On top of that, Wilson said EA’s indie partners have a number of games in store. There are four other games in the works for console and PC from EA, too, including Command and Conquer. Wilson also mentioned two mobile titles.
You can check out a PDF of the earnings call transcript from EA’s website if you’re interested. Stay tuned to GameSkinny for more next-gen console news as it develops, including tomorrow’s first look at Xbox Series X gameplay as part of the Summer Game Fest.
