While the hype for Battlefield 6 may have died since its explosive October 10, 2025, launch, apparently, Electronic Arts just wrapped up its fiscal year 2026 with a record-setting performance. And a big part of that momentum came from the multiplayer shooter’s strong debut, helping push EA to one of its biggest years ever. Even as the company continues to lean on the volatile — and often heavily criticised by its players — live-service ecosystem.
For the year ending March 31, EA reported $7.531 billion in net revenue, with total net bookings hitting a record $8.026 billion. That’s up 9% year-over-year. CEO Andrew Wilson didn’t hold back, calling Battlefield 6 the ‘best performing Battlefield‘ in a fiscal year and noting that it set multiple franchise records over the period. “Driven by our talented teams and disciplined execution, we delivered a record FY26, highlighted by the incredibly successful launch of our iconic Battlefield franchise,” he said in the financial report.
That said, EA has laid off an ‘unknown number’ of staff across the Battlefield Studios in spite of this major achievement. Battlefield 6‘s playerbase trajectory is also already winding down. Like most big, AAA multiplayer releases, the game saw a huge surge at launch, peaking at 747,440 concurrent players on Steam. It then gradually cooled off in the months after, now down 95% at peak 44,112 active players, according to SteamDB. Of course, that figure doesn’t include PlayStation and Xbox users, as EA itself hasn’t shared official owner or active player numbers across platforms.
Outside of Battlefield, EA’s other live-service pillars are still doing heavy lifting. Apex Legends, for example, posted its strongest quarter of the year, with ‘double digits’ net bookings year-over-year. Meanwhile, the company’s football line-up — EA Sports FC 26, FC Online, and FC Mobile — continues to act as a consistent revenue driver, with ‘mid-single-digit growth.’
In the report, EA also mentioned that it is still in the process of being acquired in a $55 billion deal led by the Public Investment Fund — the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. The group is joined by major investment firms like Silver Lake, which is backed by companies like Dell and Airbnb, and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners. While regulatory approvals are still pending, EA says the parties are working to close the deal. If completed, it would mark one of the biggest buyouts in gaming history, dwarfing Microsoft’s Activision-Blizzard headliner. However, it also effectively put EA under long-term private ownership that often prioritizes tighter spending and proven revenue makers.
That looming private equity buyout now casts a different light over EA’s record year. Battlefield 6 may have delivered a huge boost for the publisher, but with new ownership potentially on the horizon, another question emerges. Will EA be able to keep making games like Battlefield, or will there be a new captain who steers the production ship? Be sure to stay tuned to GameObserver to find out.
