Electronic Arts facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Electronic Arts Inc.

The EA headquarters building at Redwood City, California, in May 2011
Type	Subsidiary
Traded as	NASDAQ: ERTS (1990–2011) NASDAQ: EA (2011–2026) Nasdaq-100 component (until 2026) S&P 500 component (until 2026)
Industry	Video games
Founded	May 27, 1982; 44 years ago (1982-05-27) in San Mateo, California, U.S.
Founder	Trip Hawkins
Headquarters	Redwood City, California , U.S.
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Andrew Wilson (CEO and chairman) Cam Weber (co-president and CSO) David Tinson (co-president and COO)
Products	See list of Electronic Arts games
Revenue	US$8.0 billion (2026)
Operating income	US$1.2 billion (2026)
Net income	US$887 million (2026)
Total assets	US$13.1 billion (2026)
Total equity	US$6.8 billion (2026)
Owners	Public Investment Fund (93.4%) Silver Lake (5.5%) Affinity Partners (1.1%)
Number of employees	c. 14,500 (2025)
Divisions	EA Entertainment EA Sports
Footnotes / references Financials as of March 31,  2025 (2025 -03-31)[update].

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is a big American company that makes and publishes video games. It's based in Redwood City, California. Trip Hawkins, a former Apple employee, started EA in May 1982. The company was a pioneer in making games for early home computers. They even called their game creators "software artists."

Over the years, EA has grown a lot. They create and publish many popular game series. These include Battlefield, The Sims, Need for Speed, and Plants vs. Zombies. They also make famous sports games under the EA Sports brand, like Madden NFL, FC (formerly FIFA), and NHL. EA also owns well-known game studios like BioWare and Respawn Entertainment.

In August 2026, a group of investors, including the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, bought EA. This made EA a private company. This big change aimed to help EA become a leader in esports, which are organized video game competitions.

EA has sometimes faced discussions about its business practices. Some people had concerns about how games offered extra items for purchase or how smaller game studios were managed. EA has made changes over time to address these concerns.

History of Electronic Arts

Founding and Early Games (1982–1991)

Founder Trip Hawkins in 2013

Trip Hawkins worked at Apple Inc. before starting his own company. In May 1982, he founded Electronic Arts. He wanted to treat software development like an art form. He called the people who made games "software artists."

EA's first games were developed by outside creators. The company sold these games in special square packages. These packages looked like album covers, which was a unique idea at the time. EA also gave photo credits to its developers in magazines. This helped make them famous.

Electronic Arts' original logo (1982–1999)

In the mid-1980s, EA made many games for the Amiga computer. They also created popular non-game software like Deluxe Paint. This program became very famous on the Amiga.

By 1987, EA started making its own games internally. One of the first was Skate or Die!. Trip Hawkins was very interested in sports games. He signed a deal with football coach John Madden. This led to the popular Madden NFL game series. In 1990, EA began making games for the Nintendo Entertainment System. This was their first step into console gaming.

Growth and New Millennium Success (1991–2007)

In 1991, Larry Probst became EA's CEO. Trip Hawkins left to start another company called 3DO. 3DO created a powerful game console. EA supported this console at first. However, the 3DO console was very expensive. When Sony's PlayStation came out, it was cheaper and more powerful. EA then shifted its focus to the PlayStation.

EA headquarters in October 2007

EA continued to grow by buying other game companies. They also made deals to publish games. In 1995, Electronic Arts won an award for being the best software publisher. The company built a new headquarters in Redwood Shores, California, which opened in 1998.

Around 2000, EA changed its logo and organized its games into different brands. For example, EA Sports was for major sports titles. They also started to sell digital games directly to players. This included buying the online gaming site Pogo.com in 2001.

EA made important deals for sports games. They signed exclusive agreements with the NFL and ESPN. They also got exclusive rights for college football content. This helped their sports game series stay very popular. EA also started focusing on creating new game ideas, not just yearly updates of existing ones.

New Leadership and Digital Focus (2007–2013)

In 2007, John Riccitiello became the new CEO. He reorganized EA into different labels. The goal was to give studios more freedom. This helped increase creativity and get games to market faster. EA also started bringing many of its popular games to Mac computers.

In 2008, EA tried to buy another game company, Take-Two Interactive, but the deal did not go through. Around this time, EA faced economic challenges. They made changes to their company structure and workforce to adapt.

In 2011, EA launched Origin. This was an online store for selling PC games directly to players. It competed with other platforms like Steam. EA also acquired PopCap Games, known for games like Plants vs. Zombies and Bejeweled. This showed EA's growing interest in mobile and digital games.

Expansion and New Partnerships (2013–2022)

Andrew Wilson became EA's CEO in September 2013. EA made a big deal with Disney in May 2013. This gave EA the exclusive right to make games based on the Star Wars universe for ten years. EA then assigned many new Star Wars projects to its studios.

EA also started investing in smaller, unique games through its EA Originals program. This program helps independent game developers create new titles. In 2015, EA created the Competitive Gaming Division. This division focuses on organizing ESports events for EA's games.

There were discussions about how some games offered extra items for purchase, like in Star Wars Battlefront II. EA listened to player feedback and made changes to make these systems fairer.

In 2019, EA announced it would start releasing games on Steam again. This was to reach more players. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, EA's revenue grew as more people played online games. EA also acquired Codemasters, a British racing game developer, in 2021. They also bought Glu Mobile to expand their mobile game offerings.

In 2021, Disney announced new Star Wars games from other developers. This meant EA's exclusive license for Star Wars games was not extended. However, EA still had a non-exclusive license and continued to make Star Wars titles. EA also returned to making college sports games with EA Sports College Football.

Company Changes and Buyout (2023–Present)

In 2023, EA made some internal changes. They reorganized into two main groups: EA Sports and EA Entertainment. These changes aimed to streamline how the company worked. Like many companies in the video game industry, EA also made adjustments to its workforce during this period to focus on new goals.

In July 2024, actors who voice characters in video games went on strike. They wanted better agreements for their work, especially concerning the use of A.I. to replicate their voices or likenesses. EA was one of the companies involved in these discussions.

In August 2026, a major event happened: a group of investors bought Electronic Arts. This group included Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners. The deal was worth $55 billion, making EA a private company. This means its shares are no longer traded on the stock market.

The new owners aimed to make EA a leader in esports. Some people wondered if the new ownership might change the types of games EA makes, especially regarding certain content. However, EA stated that its core values would remain unchanged. There were also discussions about how this might affect employees, but EA told its staff there were no immediate plans for staff reductions.

In June 2026, EA launched EA Advertising. This program allows advertisers to place real-time ads directly inside EA video games.

Games by Electronic Arts

Since 1983, Electronic Arts has published many video games. They also developed their first internal game, Skate or Die!, in 1987. Over the years, they have created a huge library of games for various platforms.

Company Structure

EA is organized into two main divisions: EA Entertainment Technology & Central Development (EA Entertainment) and EA Sports. These divisions help manage the many game studios and projects.

EA Entertainment

This division focuses on a wide range of games that are not sports-related. It includes studios like:

• BioWare in Edmonton, Canada, known for role-playing games.
• Battlefield Studios, which includes:
  • Criterion Games in Guildford, England.
  • DICE in Stockholm, Sweden, creators of the Frostbite Engine.
  • Motive Studio in Montreal, Canada.
  • Ripple Effect Studios in Los Angeles, California.
• EA Mobile, which handles games for phones and tablets. This includes studios like:
  • EA Capital Games in Sacramento, California.
  • Firemonkeys Studios in Melbourne, Australia.
  • Glu Mobile in San Francisco, California.
  • Playdemic in Manchester, England.
• Maxis in Redwood City, California, famous for The Sims series.
• PopCap Games in Seattle, Washington, known for puzzle and casual games.
• Respawn Entertainment in Sherman Oaks, California, creators of Apex Legends.

EA Sports

This division is dedicated to all of EA's sports games. It includes studios like:

• Codemasters in Southam, England, known for racing games.
• EA Orlando in Orlando, Florida.
• EA Vancouver in Burnaby, Canada, which develops many major sports titles.
• Metalhead Software in Victoria, British Columbia.

Former Studios

Over its history, EA has acquired and sometimes merged or closed many studios. Some notable former studios include:

• Bullfrog Productions
• EA Black Box
• Pandemic Studios
• Visceral Games
• Westwood Studios

EA Labels

EA uses different labels to organize its games and initiatives.

EA Sports Label

This is EA's main label for all its sports video games. It publishes popular series like FC, Madden NFL, NBA Live, and NHL. EA Sports is a very valuable brand in the sports world.

EA All Play Label

This label focuses on mobile games and digital titles. It includes games like The Simpsons, Tetris, and digital versions of Hasbro board games.

EA Competitive Gaming Division Label

This group organizes esports competitions for EA's biggest games. It helps players compete globally in games like FIFA and Madden NFL.

SEED Label

SEED stands for "Search for Extraordinary Experiences Division." It's a research group that explores new technologies. They use tools like deep learning to create more immersive and exciting game experiences.

Former Labels

• EA Kids: This label used to publish educational games.
• EA Sports Big: This label was for arcade-style sports games.

Partnerships and Initiatives

EA Partners Program (1997–Present)

The EA Partners program helps other game developers publish and distribute their games. EA provides support, and the developers get to keep their creative control and intellectual property rights. This program has helped bring many different games to players.

Some games published through EA Partners include:

• Brütal Legend
• Bulletstorm
• Crysis series
• Rock Band series
• The Orange Box

EA Originals Label (2017–Present)

The EA Originals label is part of the EA Partners program. It specifically supports independent video game developers. EA helps fund these games. Once EA gets its investment back, all extra money goes to the studio that made the game. The studio also keeps the rights to their game.

Some games released under EA Originals include:

Images for kids

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  John Riccitiello at Web Summit 2017

See also

In Spanish: Electronic Arts para niños