EA R&D spending rises as it gears up for Battlefield 6, next-gen games

EA is spending more on research and development as it ramps up big next-gen projects from Battlefield 6 to Star Wars.

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EA's latest third quarter financials show a clear trend: R&D spending has been climbing quarter-over-quarter for some time. This makes sense given EA's current games pipeline, which includes a number of high-profile games like Battlefield 6, Dragon Age 4, and a new Mass Effect.

We took a closer look at EA's R&D spending since FY12 and discovered interesting data on how the company spends money for new technologies, engines, and games development. EA typically spends at least $240 million every quarter on R&D regardless of how much net revenue it earned during the period, and the investments have been consistent for nearly 10 years.

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EA's revenues have risen over the last few years, and its R&D spending has also risen proportionately. EA has made over $1 billion in revenues every quarter since FY2018, and has in turn invested at least $320 million into R&D every quarter since then. In Q3'21, EA spent $451 million in R&D on the back of $1.6 billion in net revenues. The more money EA makes, the more comfortable it is investing in future titles.

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So what is EA spending the money on? It's currently funding its experimental SEED division, which is focused on new and fledgling next-gen technologies like machine learning, AI, and other advanced tech like ray tracing on consoles and PC. EA is also planning a game streaming service called Project Atlas.

SEED should directly fold into DICE's powerful Frostbite engine, which is being re-tooled to not only power a handful of next-gen first-party EA games on next-gen PS5 and Xbox Series X hardware, but also leverage advanced new features like high-end perf targets and unscripted real-time physics destruction in games like Battlefield 6.

Projects EA is currently working on

• The Sims 5
• Battlefield 6
• Dragon Age 4
• Mass Effect 4
• New FIFA/Madden games
• Multiple new Star Wars games
• Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order 2
• Battlefront 3?