Electronic Arts’ EA unannounced game Star Wars: Maverick was recently leaked on Twitter by PSN Releases, a twitter bot that reports on the games added to the PlayStation Store.
The attached image shows a squad of X-Wings approaching a Star Destroyer against the backdrop of looming towers, which led people to speculate that it could be a remake of the Rogue Squadron games. However, that seems unlikely due to the series’ strong ties with Nintendo (OTC:NTDOY) .
Per Gematsu, the game will likely have a multiplayer component. Additionally, it is not listed as a VR game, and the listing appears to be for a beta.
New Star Wars Game Expands Portfolio
The launch of a probable new Star Wars game will likely be a boost to EA’s top line courtesy of the huge popularity of the Star Wars IP.
Notably, the company’s last Star Wars game, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, was a huge success both critically and commercially. During third-quarter fiscal 2020 earnings call, the company announced that the game hit the high-end of its expected sales (6 million to 8 million) for the third fiscal quarter.
Moreover, Battlefront II, which experienced a disastrous launch and missed sales estimates due to its loot boxes and other predatory practices, has made a huge comeback after various updates and patches.
Per Gamstat data, the game has a total player count of 9.9 million and 690K monthly active users (MAUs) on the PlayStation console as of Feb 23, 2020. The number becomes significantly larger when you factor in PC and XBOX players.
Additionally, the game will likely be a solid addition to EA’s strong portfolio of IPs, which include FIFA, Madden NFL, Need for Speed and Apex Legends. All of these games performed well in 2019 and managed to partially offset the disappointment from the company’s other high-profile IP – Anthem (NYSE:ANTM).
Further, the company has stated that it expects to deliver 12 titles in fiscal year 2020, which bodes well for the company’s prospects.
Intensifying Competition
However, competition in the video game market has heated up with major players like Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) ATVI and Take Two Interactive (NASDAQ:TTWO) releasing high profile games.
Notably, Take Two’s Red Dead Redemption 2 has sold 29 million copies while Borderlands 3 shipped 8 million units worldwide. Activision is not far behind with both Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Mobile becoming huge successes.
Additionally, Take Two’s rumored Grand Theft Auto and Bully sequels, as well as Activision’s Shadowlands expansion for World of Warcraft are expected to intensify competition in the market. Thus, EA will need a solid portfolio of offerings to gain an edge in this highly competitive space.
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