Electronic Arts is the top game maker on the most recent generation of consoles, and that’s helping the publisher rake in the cash.
EA reported the results of its fiscal third quarter, which ended Dec. 31, and the game company proudly revealed that it was the top publisher on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One worldwide. That’s thanks to the success of huge releases like Dragon Age: Inquisition, FIFA 15, and Madden NFL 15. Since launching in 2013, Microsoft’s and Sony’s systems have gone on to nearly sell a combined 30 million consoles, and EA has done a good job of providing a lot of software support for them.
During EA’s third quarter, the publisher generated $1.43 billion in revenue, which beat its own guidance of $1.28 billion. Its earnings were $1.22 per share, which also beat guidance of 90 cents. This has EA’s stock price soaring in after-hours trading to over $50 a share.
In a statement to investors, EA chief executive officer Andrew Wilson said that EA was able to deliver strong performance during the quarter and throughout calendar 2014 by focusing on its core properties. He pointed specifically to releases like Dragon Age: Inquisition, which is the third game in that franchise.
Inquisition was even the most successful launch ever for a game from developer BioWare, which is beloved for role-playing games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and the Mass Effect series. EA noted that the game won accolades from a number of critics and was played for more than 113 million hours by fans.
This helped EA deliver a record quarter for revenue, according to its chief financial officer Blake Jorgensen.