As EA gears up with multiple unannounced titles for 2022-23, can they look to regain community trust?

Electronic Arts (EA) recently had its third quarter fiscal 2022 earnings call with investors to assess the performance of its titles.

There are several IPs in the publishing house with some of them being extremely established (FIFA 22). By EA's own admission, they have suppressed their original annual forecast by nearly $225 million. All of this has been achieved by the strong showing of titles such as Apex Legends and FIFA 22.

But when one looks beneath the surface of just sales figures, there are many other issues of concern as well. EA lost a lot of face following the release of Battlefield 2042, which turned into a colossal failure. The latest iteration of the Battlefield series has not gone to plan and the publishers have admitted its failure. But EA can bounce back strong if its potential pipeline of games can deliver.

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EA can win back trust if its 2022-23 plans can deliver

EA has a host of different IPs and has always believed in that, according to CEO Andrew Wilson. Despite Battlefield 2042 causing a loss of about $100 Million, there has been overall gains due to the performance of the other IPs. While the performance of the company has been satisfactory in terms of finances, Battlefield 2042 has caused them to lose goodwill.

Game purchases work a lot on trust as consumers won't want to spend money if they have no assurances on the quality of a product. Diversity is also key as not every gamer likes only a single type of gaming experience. EA already has some exciting titles lined up such as the upcoming racing video game Grid Legends, the exact release date of which has not yet been mentioned.

Aside from the confirmed games, Wilson revealed that there are three to four unannounced games that will likely be part of the FY 22-23. Wilson added on to that by saying.

“[EA] are always trying to find ways to grow the portfolio year-over-year through new titles, new IP and expansion.”

The strongest rumor among the unannounced game is of a new UFC game with the last release being UFC 4 which was a mixed success. There could also be a chance of a Dead Space or Dragon Age game as EA has spoken in the past about potentially going back to their original IPs.

While no more reveals were made during the investor meeting, the upcoming set of games could provide EA with a chance for salvation. It has been many years since the last Dead Space and Dragon Age games came out. Both IPs were loved by fans around the world when they were active. Going back to the roots and focusing on fan-favorite IPs could certainly be a way of winning back trust.

Secondly, many of EA's current games are live service games. While there's no harm in that, live service games are not appreciated by every gamer out there. Games like Dead Space and Dragon Age's main strengths were its single-player base. The lack of a campaign for Battlefield 2042 is one of many poor decisions that have led to the game's failure. There is a definite and viable demand for single-player games and EA should definitely try to maximize it.

Only time will tell what the "three or four" unannounced games will be. But one thing is for sure - they could be EA's golden ticket.