By Zaheer Kachwala
(Reuters) -Electronic Arts forecast fiscal 2026 bookings above Wall Street expectations on Tuesday, as the videogame publisher bets on the strong performance of its sports titles and the launch of a new “Battlefield” game.
EA’s shares surged more than 6% in extended trading as the launch of “Battlefield” this fiscal fills the gap left by Take-Two Interactive’s delay of the long-awaited “Grand Theft Auto VI” out of its fiscal 2026.
EA’s positive outlook also signals the gaming industry’s optimism around sales resilience in the face of a broader pullback in consumer spending amid macroeconomic volatility stemming from U.S. tariffs.
“As we look to the future, we’re confident in our ability to execute across a deep pipeline – beginning this summer with the highly anticipated reveal of Battlefield,” said EA CEO Andrew Wilson.
Analysts have said the delay in “GTA VI” reduces competition and could drive higher sales for other videogame publishers.
Sales for the new GTA title are expected to break records and bring in billions of dollars within weeks owing to its massive popularity, potentially putting pressure on games launching during its release window.
“It is always good to avoid GTA… Battlefield gives people something to look forward to and to play until GTA comes out,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter.
For EA, gamers have also chosen to stick with proven titles from its sports portfolio such as soccer franchise “FC” and “Madden NFL”.
The company on Tuesday said monetization for “FC” was up double digits after a January update. The soccer franchise had underperformed earlier this year.
EA forecast fiscal 2026 bookings to be in the range of $7.60 billion to $8 billion, compared with estimates of $7.62 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
It reported fourth-quarter bookings of $1.80 billion, beating estimates of $1.56 billion, aided by strong sales of its multiplayer action-adventure game “Split Fiction” which became one of the best-selling games in March.
(Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)
