EA’s CEO is ‘indifferent’ on Microsoft’s Activision deal, claims EA ‘will still be the number one Xbox publisher’

Electronic Arts‘ CEO has said the company is “indifferent” as to whether Microsoft‘s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard is successful.

In a Q&A following the company’s latest earnings call on Tuesday, Andrew Wilson was asked what he thinks the implications of the deal are for the video games industry, and for future consolidation.

“This is a question I get asked a lot – I almost am never allowed to answer that question, as it turns out,” the exec replied. “What I would say is, I don’t know what’s going to happen with Activision and Microsoft.

“Again, we continue to be Microsoft’s biggest partner – I think we’re the number one publisher on their platform – so whether that deal goes through or not is not really material to us broadly.

“We think we have the scale [with] our network, our IP and our talent to continue to navigate the future and lead the future of entertainment, and compete in a marketplace regardless of whether that deal goes through or not.”

Wilson also suggested that further industry mergers are inevitable and that he wants EA to be in a good position should it ever be involved in one.

“Longer term, you know, will there be industry consolidation? Will there be broader entertainment consolidation? If I was predicting the future over the long term I would say that’s an almost certainty at some level,” he explained.

“I would love for us to have the scale to be a meaningful consolidator in that space. I think that we have tremendous assets with respect to the future of entertainment. But as it stands today, I think that we’re indifferent as to whether [Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard] goes through or not.

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“We feel like we have an incredible strategy, we feel like we have an incredible opportunity, and whether it goes through or not we will continue to be the number one publisher on the Microsoft platform.”

Earlier during its earnings call, EA was positive about its recent major releases, announcing that FIFA 23 was the most successful launch in the series’ history and saying it was “overjoyed” with the “very strong” start for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.