Skate
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EA Closes BioWare, Cuts 400 Jobs
Electronic Arts has announced a significant restructuring effort, resulting in the closure of the legendary studio BioWare and the termination of approximately 400 employees.
- Electronic Arts has closed the legendary studio BioWare and cancelled its in-development Mass Effect project as part of a 3% workforce reduction affecting approximately 400 employees.
- This latest round of layoffs continues a four-year trend of downsizing at EA, following cuts of 800 roles in 2023, 670 in 2024, and over 400 in 2025.
- EA is shifting its strategy to focus on fewer large-scale action-adventure projects, citing the industry-wide challenge of managing soaring development costs.
EA Boss Laura Miele Recalls the Stories Behind Battlefield 6, Skate and More
Electronic Arts Enterprise President Laura Miele outlines a strategic shift in the company’s development philosophy, emphasizing the necessity of prioritizing core fan expectations when expanding franchises into new platforms or formats.
- EA's approach to game development was significantly influenced by negative fan reception to a Command & Conquer mobile game announced at E3 2018, leading them to prioritize core fan expectations for established IPs.
- Following the Command & Conquer mobile game backlash, EA greenlit remasters and open-source code for the franchise, and applied this lesson to subsequent releases like Battlefield 6 and the new free-to-play Skate, ensuring core experiences were delivered first.
- EA's Head of Studios, Laura Miele, directly responded to fan feedback in an E3 meeting, leading to the immediate greenlighting of fan-requested titles like Skate, EA Sports College Football, and Dead Space.
2025 Most Played Games: Market Analysis
The 2025 market analysis provides a comprehensive overview of the year’s most successful video game titles and broader industry revenue trends across PC and console platforms.
- Steam generated $17.7 billion in revenue in 2025, representing a 15% increase over the $15.4 billion recorded in 2024.
- Battlefield 6 led the year's new releases with 26 million players, followed by the free-to-play reboot of Skate with 23 million players and the co-op horror title R.E.P.O. with 19.6 million players.
- Premium games remain the dominant force on Steam, accounting for 78% of total platform revenue compared to 22% from free-to-play titles.
Call of Duty under Attack
The video game shooter genre is currently experiencing a significant period of volatility, characterized by intense competition and shifting player engagement.
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 launched with 100,000 peak concurrent players on Steam, significantly underperforming compared to Black Ops 6 (300,000) and Modern Warfare 3 (190,000).
- Competing shooters Battlefield 6 and Arc Raiders achieved strong launch figures, peaking at 747,000 and 482,000 concurrent Steam users respectively.
- Arc Raiders shows low player crossover with Call of Duty, with only 11% on PS5 and 13% on Xbox, while 5 million Call of Duty console players were drawn from Fortnite last weekend.
Deadlock: Steam Wishlist Analysis
Valve’s upcoming title, Deadlock, currently holds the position of the most wishlisted multiplayer game on Steam, boasting over 5.5 million wishlists despite minimal formal marketing.
- Valve's upcoming multiplayer game Deadlock has accumulated over 1.2 million new wishlists in the last three months despite minimal marketing.
- Deadlock is positioned as a free-to-play title, which is expected to drive higher conversion rates compared to premium shooters like Battlefield 6.
- The game's audience is geographically diverse, with 39% of wishlisters in Asia, 35% in the Americas, and 24% in Europe.
September 2025's Top New Steam & Console Games
September 2025 was a highly dynamic month for the video game industry, characterized by significant new releases across PC and console platforms.
- Hollow Knight: Silksong sold 4.2 million paid units on Steam in September 2025, significantly exceeding performance expectations.
- Borderlands 4 became the top-grossing new Steam title, generating $135 million in revenue through its premium pricing strategy.
- The free-to-play title Skate. achieved high market penetration with over 18 million downloads across console and PC platforms.
September’s Top PlayStation Games by Copies Sold: Horror and Sports Reign
September’s PlayStation sales performance highlights the continued dominance of major sports franchises alongside the enduring popularity of legacy titles and niche horror releases.
- EA and 2K dominated September PlayStation sales, with NBA 2K26 selling just under 2 million copies and FC 26 continuing to outperform other licensed sports titles globally.
- The free-to-play title Skate achieved a strong launch with over 15 million players across consoles, including 7.5 million on PlayStation, and generated approximately $3 million in cosmetic revenue on Steam.
- Borderlands 4 moved nearly 800,000 units on PlayStation, while Team Cherry’s Silksong sold over 600,000 units in its first month of release.
Skate Leads September's Top Games by Downloads
September 2025 saw significant activity in the gaming industry, characterized by the dominance of major AAA titles and the announcement of a transformative $55 billion leveraged buyout of Electronic Arts.
- Electronic Arts is going private in a $55 billion leveraged buyout, the largest in industry history, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners, with the deal expected to close in 2027.
- The free-to-play reboot of EA's Skate launched in early access with 14 million downloads in September, with 75.4% of players on consoles and 24.7% on Steam.
- EA FC 26 secured the second spot in September with 9 million downloads, with PlayStation accounting for 67.5% of that volume and Steam capturing only 5.7%.
Sports Games with EA Sports FC 26 on Live Streaming
Sports games are increasingly leveraging live-streaming platforms to drive engagement, shifting away from their historical position outside the esports spotlight.
- EA Sports FC 26 generated 23 million hours watched during its debut week, maintaining a 138,000 average concurrent viewership and peaking at 443,000 concurrent viewers.
- The EA Sports football franchise remains a dominant streaming force despite losing the FIFA branding, with EA Sports FC 24 recording 36.2 million hours watched at launch.
- Creator-led strategies are essential for sports game launches, evidenced by German and English-speaking streamers like eliasn97 (3.3 million hours watched) and DjMaRiiO (1.2 million hours watched) driving FC 26 engagement.
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