Electronic Arts (EA) is facing a grim financial outlook as the company slashes its revenue forecast for the current fiscal year. The gaming giant pointed to the “underperformance” in sales for EA Sports FC 25 and Dragon Age: The Veilguard as key factors in its struggles.
While the official narrative blames a post-holiday sales slump and unmet player engagement goals, industry insiders and fans have begun to question if EA’s prioritization of identity politics and gender narratives might be steering its flagship franchises off a cliff.
Key art for Dragon Age: The Veilguard (2024), BioWare
Released in October, Dragon Age: The Veilguard has fallen shockingly short of sales expectations. According to EA, the game “engaged” roughly 1.5 million players during the three-month period ending December 31, 2024—nearly half of what the company anticipated.
EA initially projected the game would sell upwards of 10 million copies over its lifecycle, according to an insider source cited by YouTuber SmashJT. That now seems increasingly unlikely, especially given the turmoil at BioWare, the studio responsible for the Dragon Age series.
Adding to the storm, The Veilguard’s director, Corinne Busche left BioWare earlier this month, claiming the move was voluntary. However, speculation swirls about whether this exit is tied to the game’s failure. Under Busche’s leadership, Dragon Age: The Veilguard leaned heavily into progressive themes, with storylines and characters that many players criticized as ham-fisted attempts to cater to identity politics. This focus, according to some fans, came at the expense of the deep, immersive worldbuilding and character development that made the Dragon Age franchise beloved in the first place.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard Game Director’s X bio
Meanwhile, EA Sports FC 25—the company’s rebranded soccer simulation game after losing the FIFA license—has also struggled to meet expectations. EA reported a “slowdown” in sales during the holiday season, a crucial period for gaming revenue. The company has scrambled to address player concerns, recently rolling out the franchise’s most significant mid-season gameplay overhaul to date. While EA claims that feedback on the updates has been “encouraging,” it hasn’t been enough to offset the game’s disappointing performance.
EA has revised its net bookings projection for the fiscal year down to $7-7.15 billion from an earlier range of $7.5-7.8 billion. CEO Andrew Wilson tried to put a positive spin on the situation, touting a “return to growth” in fiscal year 2026 as EA prepares to launch more major titles. However, the current year paints a troubling picture for the company.
A screenshot from Dragon Age: The Veilguard (2024), BioWare
Adding fuel to the fire, BioWare’s future looks increasingly uncertain. SmashJT’s source claims that EA is planning to shut down BioWare’s Edmonton headquarters, further solidifying suspicions that the studio’s best days are behind it. Once renowned for its RPG masterpieces like Mass Effect and Dragon Age: Origins, BioWare now seems like a shadow of its former self—a casualty, perhaps, of EA’s broader corporate strategy.
EA’s admission of failure has also forced the games journalism industry to finally acknowledge Veilguard’s failure, with headlines popping up on sites like IGN, which initially rated the game a 9/10.
A screenshot from Dragon Age: The Veilguard (2024), BioWare
As EA limps toward the end of its fiscal year, fans and investors alike are left wondering whether the company will learn from these failures. Will EA finally abandon its obsession with identity politics and refocus on what made its games great in the first place? Or will it continue to alienate players and jeopardize its legacy?
Do you think EA will learn its lesson from Dragon Age: The Veilguard and its abysmal sales? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
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It’s okay to make a game and tell people “it’s not for you.”
It’s unwise to make a triple A game for less than 1%’of the population.
Clear out the dei numpties they arnt even gamers.
This is how you know EA is evil – for all the studios they’ve closed without that many failures they still keep Bioware alive and give them money to produce garbage.
No sympathy – if they pump a bunch of degenerate propaganda into Mass Effect then hopefully BioWare will just be shut down permanently at that point. Glad Veilguard lost a ton of money and Andrew Busche was fired, though.
I dont think they will ever learn
EA destroyed Pandemic despite having developed a great game like The Saboteur (I miss the nude dancers of Paris) that they had to release unfinished, while supporting the same studio that perpetrated Andromeda and Veilguard. Someone explain this to me.
“Engaged 1.5 mln players”.
It was a giveaway when you purchase certain items, I wonder how many units were shifted this way.
It’s just going to get worse for Evil Actualized once the markets correct. I know some people are sick of me saying this, but we really are headed for a serious economic downturn. Trump’s election was never going to stop it, just soften the landing once it hits. Soon people won’t have money to pay for MTX and paid loot boxes, which are EA’s sports titles’ biggest profits.
The woke mind virus has infected the corporate Entertainment industry, and it is dying.