EA Really, Really Happy With Apex Legends And Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Event
It sounds like the special Final Fantasy VII event for Apex Legends has made EA some serious Gil. Speaking on an earnings call, EA CEO Andrew Wilson spoke glowingly about the collaboration, which saw some fan outrage initially for the high cost of items.
Wilson claimed that not only has the event done well business-wise, but it's also gotten positive feedback from players. "I guess, at a macro level, we're really, really happy with that event," he said while discussing EA's third-quarter results for fiscal year 2024. "It was very well received by the community and actually performed incredibly well.
"And certainly as we were in what was a very, very competitive quarter, there were a couple of competitive titles that actually did some really unique and interesting things in the quarter. And so the performance of Apex with that collection event in the context of some of these other unique things happening in the competitive landscape we think shows tremendous promise for how the franchise continues into Season 20 and beyond."
The Final Fantasy VII event for Apex Legends was revealed at The Game Awards last month. The collaboration officially launched earlier this month on January 9, letting any Legend wield the Buster Sword. GameSpot has also detailed all of the Apex Legends Final Fantasy VII skins and cosmetics.
Now, while the collaboration event has seen success, EA wasn't as content with how Apex Legends performed in general for the third quarter--October 1 through December 31, 2023. EA CFO Stuart Canfield said the free-to-play battle royal game "did not meet our expectations" during "a highly competitive quarter." He also touched on the Final Fantasy VII collaboration, noting that it has led to "two of our highest net bookings days over the fiscal year."
Along with Apex Legends, EA addressed other big-name franchises during the company's earnings report. For instance, the next Battlefield won't arrive until 2025 at the earliest.
