FIFA 23

Creative Industries in the UK Report

The United Kingdom’s entertainment market reached a historic peak of £11.1 billion in 2022, representing a 6.9% year-on-year increase and nearly doubling its total value since 2015.

• The UK entertainment market reached a record £11.1 billion in 2022, a 6.9% year-on-year increase that nearly doubles its 2015 valuation.
• Digital services now dominate the landscape with a 91% market share across video, music, and gaming sectors.
• The video games sector is the largest segment at £4.66 billion, with digital software sales—driven by mobile and console DLC—accounting for 90% of that total.

Electronic Arts Q2 FY2023 Results

Electronic Arts reported its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2023, highlighting a resilient performance driven by its live services model and the successful launch of its flagship sports titles.

Electronic Arts Q2 FY23 Financial Results

Electronic Arts reported solid financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2023, ending September 30, 2022, characterized by strong player engagement and growth in its live services business.

• Electronic Arts reported Q2 FY23 net revenue of $1.904 billion, a 4% increase year-over-year.
• Live services and other net bookings accounted for 73% of total net bookings over the trailing twelve months, highlighting the company's core business model.
• EA SPORTS FIFA 23 achieved record-breaking performance with 10.3 million players in its first week and a 10% increase in unit sales compared to the previous year.

Plus: The Rise of the Mobile/PC Simu-launch?

This analysis examines the emerging trend of simultaneous multi-platform launches for free-to-play (F2P) titles and provides a comprehensive performance review of the PC and console gaming markets for mid-October 2022.

• Asian-published free-to-play titles are increasingly utilizing simultaneous mobile and PC 'day and date' launches to maximize reach, despite frequent negative feedback from core PC audiences regarding monetization and technical requirements.
• The Korean ARPG Undecember reached a peak of 45,000 concurrent users on Steam and entered the top ten global grossing charts, even while maintaining a 'Mostly Negative' user review score.
• Torchlight Infinite demonstrated the effectiveness of hybrid distribution by securing 17,000 concurrent users on Steam alongside hundreds of thousands of downloads on the Google Play Store.

Which Unlikely PC Game Subjects Are Success Indicators?

This analysis examines the correlation between specific Steam tags and pre-release "Hype" scores to identify niche subjects that serve as indicators of potential commercial success.

• Warhammer 40K is the strongest thematic indicator for pre-release interest, achieving a median Hype score 100 times higher than the 25-point baseline for unreleased Steam games.
• Thematic subjects including World War II, Horses, Sailing, and Villain Protagonists consistently outperform the median Steam Hype score, with World War II titles seeing 6x higher engagement.
• Overwatch 2 dominated the October 2022 console market with an estimated 50 million downloads across PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and Meta Quest.

US Video Game Market: September 2022

The United States video game market experienced a contraction in September 2022, with total consumer spending reaching $4.07 billion, a 4% decrease compared to the same period in the previous year.

• US consumer spending on games (software, hardware, accessories) in September 2022 decreased by 4% year-on-year, totaling $4.07 billion.
• Despite the overall decline, hardware sales saw a significant 19% increase in September 2022 compared to the previous year, primarily driven by PlayStation 5 sales.
• Software sales, including physical, digital, subscriptions, and DLC, dropped by 7% in September 2022 to $3.4 billion, with gains in non-mobile subscriptions offset by declines in other content segments.

Plus: A Game Hype Showdown – Vampires or Cute Kitties

Analyzing Steam’s descriptive tagging system reveals a distinct performance gap between different thematic aesthetics, specifically comparing the "Vampires" and "Cats" tags.

• Steam games tagged 'Vampires' significantly outperform those tagged 'Cats,' ranking #139 versus #233 in median Hype score and featuring more than double the number of titles with over 5,000 followers.
• Bonelab achieved the second-largest paid VR-only debut in Steam history, reaching approximately 12,000 concurrent users.
• Dome Keeper reached $1 million in gross revenue shortly after its launch, demonstrating strong performance for indie titles alongside space strategy game Terra Invicta.

EA SPORTS FIFA 23 Esports Roadmap Revealed

Electronic Arts has unveiled its comprehensive esports roadmap for FIFA 23, detailing a structured competitive season that integrates new formats and expanded partnerships.

• The EA SPORTS Cup, a 2v2 competition featuring professional football clubs and esports organizations, begins October 17, 2022, and serves as a qualifier for the FIFAe Club World Cup 2023.
• The FGS 23 1v1 competitive season launches September 27, 2022, with a 10-month schedule of tournaments leading to nine regional online qualifiers.
• The FGS 23 Midseason Major is scheduled as an in-person, open-bracket event in London on April 7, 2023.