EA Releases The Sims Mobile, Expands Mobile Gaming Options

Electronic Arts’ (NASDAQ:EA) Maxis division recently launched The Sims Mobile — the much awaited latest version of the popular The Sims franchise — worldwide on iOS and Android devices.

Notably, The Sims is one of the most important revenue generators for EA. The Sims FreePlay recorded enormous success in the last quarter.

Moreover, player base for the PC and Console-version The Sims 4 grew more than 35% year over year driven by the launch of “highest performing expansion pack to date”.

Markedly, the company’s strength in digital business is boosted by live services and mobile games. In the prior quarter, a 12% improvement in Digital net bookings year over year was driven by 39% and 5% increase in Live services and Mobile delivery net bookings, respectively. In fact, net bookings from Live services’ were backed by robust performance by The SIMS 4 and Ultimate Team.

Mobile Games – A Key Growth Driver

After the success of Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes and Madden NFL Mobile, EA has been gearing up to expand its mobile business.

Per market research firm Newzoo, by 2020, more than 50% of the revenues will stem from mobile games. Therefore, to cash in on the booming mobile games market, EA plans to expand its mobile portfolio with the launch of two games this year and more in the coming years.

In fact, FIFA Mobile is one of the key growth drivers for the company. Last quarter, it added 26 million players.

Electronic Arts Inc. Revenue (TTM)

Electronic Arts Inc. Revenue (TTM) | Electronic Arts Inc. Quote

New Titles to Provide Competitive Edge

EA has two other games slated to release in the current quarter. Burnout Paradise Remastered will be available from Mar 16 on Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One. Meanwhile, A Way Out is scheduled to be released on Mar 23.

In February, EA and Swedish studio Zoink Games released Fe for players on Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Origin for PC. EA also launched UFC 3 for Xbox One and PS4 in the same month.

We believe the new titles will help EA to counter intensifying competition and offset lackluster performance from Star Wars Battlefront 2, which had been a setback for the company. In a year’s time, shares of EA have surged 42.9% underperforming its peers like Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI) , Take-Two (NASDAQ:TTWO) and Gluu Mobile (NASDAQ:GLUU) that gained 52.5%, 87.1% and 106.8%, respectively.

Currently, EA carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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