Electronic Arts' New Release FIFA 20 Becomes An Instant Hit

Electronic Arts’ (NASDAQ:EA) FIFA 20 has struck the right chord with users since its Sep 27 launch on PlayStation 4 (PS4), Xbox One and PC.

Notably, FIFA 20 has already gained popularity on EA Access and Origin Access with 1.2 billion goals scored across all game modes with more than 450 million matches.

The new Volta Football Mode brings FIFA 20 to streets and futsal courts where players create new characters based on individual style. Per the announcement, 10 million players on FIFA 20 have been globally competing on professional pitches and futsal cages.

Additionally, VOLTA Football has become the second most played mode in FIFA 20. Players have created 5 million avatars to date on the pitches or cages globally, especially in the settings of Berlin, Rome, Lagos, London and Cape Town.

Till Oct 17, FIFA 20 will offer players 8000 Volta Coins to personalize their avatar with new accessories available in VOLTA Drop. This is expected to boost user engagement.

Moreover, gamers will also get a chance to win in-game rewards in VOLTA Football mode by participating in the Squad Building Challenge.

Reportedly, FIFA Ultimate Team players competed in 272 million FUT challenges played in the first three weeks.

Further, since its launch, FIFA 20 has recorded 138 million games played in Division Rivals by players to climb the rankings of the FUT Champions Weekend League. Players have been competing to become FUT Champions Verified and take the field in EA SPORTS FIFA 20 Global Series to reach The FIFA eWorld Cup.

Notably, EA has been one of the top-performing gaming stocks on a year-to-date basis driven by its portfolio strength. Shares have returned 17.3% year to date, outperforming the industry’s rally of 15.5%.

Year to date Performance



FIFA 20 Success to Aid EA

EA has been benefiting from strong popularity of its well-recognized franchises, FIFA, The Sims 4 and Madden NFL.

Notably, FIFA is an important growth driver for EA, given the franchise's impressive sales track record and user base.

Per a VentureBeat report, FIFA 19 and FIFA 18 had 45 million unique console and PC players in fiscal 2019. Moreover, FIFA 18 sold more than 24 million copies in a span of 11 months.

Higher engagement level in FIFA 20 is expected to drive the company’s digital revenues in the near term. The company expects digital net revenues to be $4.175 billion in fiscal 2020.

Intensifying Competition

The success of FIFA 20 is expected to further boost EA’s footprint amid intensifying competition from the likes of Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI) , Take-Two (NASDAQ:TTWO) and Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA) prior to the holiday season.

However, release of Take Two Interactive’s Borderlands 3 and Activision’s upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare game is expected to challenge EA’s dominance in the space.

Additionally, Activision is set to launch Call of Duty: Mobile in partnership with Tencent.

Moreover, EA also faces mobile gaming competition from Zynga’s newly launched Merge Magic! and Game of Thrones Slots Casino.

Nevertheless, EA is expected to further engage users with upcoming releases such as Plants vs. Zombies and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, which will help boost its revenues.

Currently, EA carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here

Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside?

Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana.

Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look.

See the pot trades we're targeting>>