EA Holds Game Price Steady, Defying Trend

Publisher and developer EA has confirmed it has no current plans to increase its game pricing, even as competitors like Microsoft and Nintendo move toward an $80 standard.

During the company's latest financial call to investors, CEO Andrew Wilson stated the focus remains on "delivering incredible quality and exceptional value to our player community." He pointed to the success of the co-op adventure game Split Fiction, which has now sold over 4 million copies, as an example of this commitment.

"Our pricing power today operates in a very different landscape than it did even a decade ago," Wilson explained. "While selling physical discs in retail stores remains part of our business, it's now a significantly smaller segment. Our pricing spectrum today spans from free-to-play models all the way up to premium deluxe editions."

"Ultimately, whether an offering costs one dollar, ten dollars, or one hundred dollars, our core objective never changes: to deliver outstanding quality and exponential value for our players," Wilson continued. "Our experience has consistently shown that when we successfully combine quality with value, our business remains strong, resilient, and positioned for growth."

"From a forward-looking perspective... we are not implementing any changes to our current pricing strategy at this time," added CFO Stuart Canfield.

This announcement will be reassuring news for many gamers, especially following last week's confirmation from Microsoft that it is raising prices for Xbox consoles, alongside increases for controllers, headsets, and certain games. The price hikes for hardware and accessories are already in effect. While game prices remain unchanged for now, Microsoft is expected to charge $79.99 for new, first-party titles launching around the holiday season.

This move is part of a wider trend across AAA gaming, which has seen standard prices climb from $60 to $70 over the past five years. It also follows Nintendo's decision to price upcoming Switch 2 exclusive Mario Kart World, and other Switch 2 Edition titles, at $80. The Switch 2 console itself was recently unveiled with a $450 launch price—a figure that drew criticism from some Nintendo fans, though analysts noted such a cost was likely unavoidable given current economic pressures.

Based on EA's statements, consumers can expect upcoming releases like EA Sports FC, Madden, and Battlefield to maintain their $70 standard edition pricing.

Last week, IGN reported that EA eliminated approximately 100 positions at Apex Legends developer Respawn Entertainment, as part of broader organizational cuts affecting around 300 employees in total.