Electronic Arts (EA) is one of the biggest gaming companies, with legacy titles like FIFA and Madden that have had a dedicated player base for many years. Additionally, titles like Apex Legends have found a strong player base with potential for long-term longevity. In the company’s latest earnings call this week, EA CEO Andrew Wilson described blockchain technology, notably NFTs and play-to-earn capability as “the future of our industry.” The Future Of Gaming On the earnings call, Wilson added that “it’s still early to figure out how that’s going to work.” Given EA’s long-time licensing partners, most notably with heavy-hitting sports league IP, there’s clear-cut potential moving forward in integrating NFTs into gaming. How the ecosystem at large operates is a much muddier perspective. EA has long been criticized for it’s emphasis on loot boxes and pay-to-win incentives. However, in titles like FIFA (whose long-standing relationship with EA now seems to be in jeopardy), Ultimate Team player cards are already in a sense operating as centralized pseudo-NFTs. “In the context of the games we create and the live services that we offer, collectible digital content is going to play a meaningful part in our future,” Wilson added. “It’s still early to tell, but I think we’re in a really good position, and we should expect us to kind of think more ...
