You Were The Chosen One
Disney
EA had exclusive rights to make Star Wars video games and that should have been a slam dunk. Star Wars is catnip for gamers like CoD is cat lasers for gamers. So how did they mess it up? What seems like 50,000 new shows and movies are planned now that Mickey Mouse has his gloved claws in the franchise. EA, despite having the only key to the kingdom, made a just meager handful of Star Wars games. Combined with the Battlefront II debacle, when negotiations around the exclusivity deal began ahead of the 2023 expiration date, Disney decided not to renew. For now, the company is still making Star Wars games, but still, that had to hurt. It’s like piloting a Tie Fighter and losing a race to a Bantha.
The End Of An Era
Disney
In 2022 the sports gaming world was minorly rocked when FIFA, the organizing body for major league international soccer, announced it would not allow EA to continue use of its name on the yearly soccer offering (that’s basically the only major soccer game in town). (Rocket League doesn’t count, sorry.) EA may still publish soccer games starring all your favorite players, but with the FIFA name unattached, this is an opening for a competitor to take the field.
There’s Always A Bigger Fish
Disney
The wiki page for EA acquisitions lists almost 50 companies the studio has gobbled up over its decades-long run. And now the bigger fish is looking to get vore-d by something even bigger. EA has been publicly interested in being bought up by one of the few remaining mega corporations. Though they’re interested in pursuing a partnership deal, any merger or acquisition inevitably leads to layoffs and a changed company. But despite EA displaying their assets like an unfixed cat in heat, no deals have gone through. They’ll probably find a buyer due to still popular games like The Sims and Apex: Legends; the company is unrecognizable from the one that started off a long time ago in what feels like a galaxy far, far away.