Electronic Arts, Inc.

Moby ID: 2

History add

February 28, 2024: Company lays off 670 employees (5% of its workforce at the time), closes Ridgeline Games (with some staff moving to Ripple Effect Studios) and cancels several projects including Ridgeline's singleplayer Battlefield game and a Star Wars FPS by Respawn Entertainment.
June 20, 2023: As part of an internal reorganization, EA splits its studios into two organizations: EA Entertainment and EA Sports.
March 31, 2023: As part of "a strategic decision (...) to focus on fewer channels", which previously resulted in pulling their games from authorized key resellers, EA delists Codemasters titles from the DRM-free PC game store ZOOM Platform.
January 31, 2023: Company announces the closure of Industrial Toys. Consequently, their soft-launched game at the time, Battlefield Mobile, is cancelled.
October 7, 2022: Origin becomes superseded by the overhauled EA App on Windows, with the macOS version announced for a later date.
June 23, 2021: Company acquires Playdemic.
May 20, 2021: Chairman of the Board Larry Probst retires, having been a board member since 1991 and its chairman since 1994. His place is taken by EA CEO Andrew Wilson.
May 5, 2021: Company acquires Metalhead Software.
February 18, 2021: Company completes its acquisition of Codemasters and its subsidiaries.
February 8, 2021: Company acquires Glu Mobile.
January 13, 2021: EA's Star Wars licensing agreement with Disney becomes non-exclusive with the revival of Lucasfilm Games and third parties becoming involved as well.
December 14, 2020: Company announced the acquisition of Codemasters for US$ 1.2 billion, after Take-Two Interactive had bid $870 million.
October 29, 2019: EA starts distributing PC games on Steam again, starting with Star Wars: Jedi - Fallen Order. Most such titles would still require an EA account and/or Origin integration.
July 9, 2018: Company acquires Industrial Toys.
November 9, 2017: Company acquires Respawn Entertainment.
May 29, 2014: Company closes Mythic.
October 29, 2013: Company closes Victory Games, cancelling their Command & Conquer game, amid internal corporate issues.
September 20, 2013: Andrew Wilson, lead of the EA Sports label and the Origin distribution service, is named as the company's CEO.
July 12, 2013: Company closes EA Phenomic.
May 6, 2013: Company signs exclusive licensing agreement with Disney to the Star Wars IP for future video games.
March 18, 2013: John Riccitiello steps down as EA CEO, and is temporarily replaced by Larry Probst, the company's Executive Chairman.
February 8, 2013: EA's game distribution application Origin is ported for Mac OS X.
July 12, 2011: Company acquires PopCap Games for US$ 650 million in cash, plus US$ 100 million in stock.
July 6, 2011: EA decides to release new titles on PC exclusively on Origin, after Crysis 2 was delisted from Steam. Retro releases on GOG.com are not affected by this change.
June 7, 2011: EA launches Origin, its digital distribution application for games on Windows. It replaces the EA Download Manager (EADM).
May 3, 2011: Company acquires Firemint and Infinite Interactive.
October 20, 2010: Company acquires Chillingo.
February 22, 2010: Company acquires IronMonkey Studios.
November 18, 2009: The company confirms to close down the development studio Pandemic Studios. The core IP team is folded into Electronic Arts Los Angeles.
November 9, 2009: The company announces to have acquired the social games company Playfish for USD 275 million in cash and USD 25 million in equity retention arrangements.
July 2009: The company announces the formation of the iPhone development studio 8lb Gorilla.
June 24, 2009: The company announces to restructure Mythic Entertainment and BioWare into a new RPG/MMO group.
December 3, 2008: The company announces to have acquired Korean free-to-play specialist J2MSoft Inc.
November 22, 2008: The company agrees to acquire the Korean division Hands-On Mobile Korea of Hands-On Mobile and announces to rename it to EA Mobile Korea.
January 7, 2008: The company completes the acquisition of VG Holding Corp. and adds the development studios BioWare Corporation and Pandemic Studios to its EA Games label.
January 2008: It is announced the company intends to open a new development studio in South Korea, headed by Danny Isaac. Franchises such as NBA Street and Battlefield will be further developed there.
November 1, 2007: Following the disappointing results of the second quarter, the company announces to close the Chertsey studio in the UK.
October 11, 2007: The company announces the acquisition of VG Holding Corp., owning BioWare and Pandemic Studios.
October 5, 2007: Atlanta-based software tools and gaming client applications provider Super Computer International (SCI) acquired. It is integrated into EA Online's Technology Group.
June 18, 2007: The company announces to reorganize itself into four labels: EA Sports (led by Joel Linzner), EA Games (led by Frank Gibeau), EA Casual Entertainment (led by Kathy Vrabeck) and The Sims (led by Nancy Smith). The four labels are supported by two new groups: Central Development Services and Global Publishing. Central Development Services, both led by Executive Vice President John Schappert.
May 21, 2007: After the rumor in April, the company now officially announces an equity investment in The9 Limited. With $167 million, they gain a 15% share.
April 2007: It is widely announced that EA has bought a 19% stake in the Chinese online game operator The9 Limited for about $200 million. A few days later, EA spokesman Jeff Brown said there was no signed agreement.
March 1, 2007: The company starts selling the music and soundtracks from its best-selling games on Apple's iTunes music store.
March 2007: The company announces plans to make an equity investment in Korea-based online gaming company, Neowiz Corporation, and expand the existing co-development and publishing relationship with that company.
February 2007: The company shuts down the Japanese development studio EA Studios Japan.
November 30, 2006: The company acquires Headgate Studios Inc. and renames it EA Salt Lake.
October 2, 2006: The company acquires Digital Illusions CE.
August 22, 2006: The company announces to have acquired Phenomic Game Development. It is renamed EA Phenomic.
June 20, 2006: The company announces to acquire Mythic Entertainment. Once the acquisition is complete, it will become EA Mythic, a wholly-owned studio dedicated to developing Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games.
December 8, 2005: Company acquires JAMDAT Mobile Inc..
December 5, 2005: The company opens a new development studio in Singapore, which will focus on localizing and customizing popular EA games into at least five different languages for distribution throughout the Asia region, and eventually evolve into an online game development facility.
November 4, 2005: The company teams up with Nettwerk Music Group to launch EA Recordings, a digital music distribution label that brings EA's catalogue of wholly-owned musical compositions and remixes to Digital Service Providers worldwide.
November 2005: The company acquires the rights to develop and publish games based on the long-running animated television show The Simpsons. Previously, the rights were held by Vivendi Universal.
March 9, 2005: The company announces to make available academic copies of Criterion's RenderWare middleware software to speed up game development courses in universities.
January 17, 2005: The company announces a 15-year partnership with ESPN.
January 10, 2005: The company acquires the exclusive rights to develop a game based on the 2006 AFL season.
December 20, 2004: Company acquires 19.9% of Ubisoft's shares through the Dutch media company Talpa Beheer BV. Ubisoft considers it a hostile offer.
December 13, 2004: The company acquires the exclusive NFL license with all the official players and teams for five years, a move to get the upper hand of the ESPN NFL series.
November 8, 2004: Company lowers the retail price of their new sports games NHL 2005, NFL 2005, NBA Live 2005 (all $29.95) and NCAA Football 2005 ($39.95) to compete with the $20 ESPN 2005 sports titles.
July 28, 2004: The company acquires Criterion, the studio responsible for the successful Burnout series and the RenderWare engine used by a great number of developers and many AAA titles at the time. EA bought the studio from Canon Europe.
June 30, 2004: EA ends development on Ultima X: Odyssey, an upcoming 3D MMORPG, so they can focus their online efforts on the 2D Ultima Online game.
February 18, 2004: The company announces that they hired the services of Fonix to develop voice-command interfaces for upcoming games.
February 13, 2004: The company acquires the development studio NuFX, Inc.
February 6, 2004: The company acquires the rights to develop new fighting games that will feature Marvel Comics' heroes
October 16, 2003: Company acquires Studio 33.
August 13, 2003: The company announces the opening of a new development studio in Montreal, Quebec: EA Montreal.
June 11, 2002: The company acquires Black Box Games and makes it a wholly-owned subsidiary of Electronic Arts.
March 23, 2001: The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences awards SSX with 5 awards, including Console Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering, Outstanding Achievement in Game Play Engineering, Racing Game of the Year, and Sports Game of the Year.
February 1, 2001: The Official US Playstation Magazine prints the first info on SSX: DVD, Sled Storm 2 and NBA Street, all of which are part of the next wave of EA Sports BIG titles.
August 18, 2000: LucasArts signs distribution partnership with EA in Asia-Pacific Territory.
August 10, 2000: The company wins worldwide interactive rights for games based on Harry Potter books and films.
July 31, 2000: Chris Vrenna, founding member of Nine Inch Nails, will produce and compose score for American McGee's Alice.
July 27, 2000: EA/Maxis' The Sims is top-grossing PC Game of first half of 2000 by PC Data.
July 26, 2000: The company signs Daytona Speedway for a 4-year deal.
February 24, 2000: EA and Origin announce that Ultima Online has reached 150,000 paying subscribers.
February 24, 2000: Company acquires Dreamworks Interactive from Microsoft and Dreamworks SKG.
February 14, 2000: Company signs Mike Piazza of New York Mets to be the spokesman for EA Sports Triple Play 2001.
January 26, 2000: Company licenses id Tech 3 engine to be used in several games, including 007: Agent Under Fire, American McGee's Alice, and others.
November 22, 1999: Company creates Internet Business Division to develop content for AOL and Internet.
November 22, 1999: Company announces agreement to acquire Kesmai, the online game unit of NewsCorp.
October 18, 1999: Company enters into exclusive development agreement and invests in Bottle Rocket.
September 8, 1999: Company acquires Playnation.
September 2, 1999: Company signs Michael Jordan to appear in future basketball games.
August 31, 1999: Company will sponsor Las Vegas Bowl.
July 28, 1999: Company signs licensing agreement with Major League Soccer.
July 27, 1999: Company receives first "Online Privacy Seal" under ESRB Privacy Online certification program.
July 16, 1999: Company appoints Steve Dauterman (formerly of LucasArts) as General Manager of Studio Asia Pacific (EA Australia).
July 13, 1999: Company signs contract with Wizards of the Coast to jointly develop internet-based game.
June 10, 1999: Company signs three year Supercross sponsor agreement.
March 11, 1999: EA/Origin brought Wing Commander to movie screen.
February 22, 1999: Company signs multi-year Formula One license.
January 14, 1999: Company recalls PSX version of Tiger Woods 99 PGA Tour Golf. A bootleg episode of South Park was found on the CD in normally unused space. The file was only readable via a PC, and was invisible to the PSX console. Roughly 100,000 copies were affected.
January 12, 1999: EA Sports signs Sammy Sosa to be spokesman and coverman for Triple Play 2000.
November 16, 1998: Company secured 8-year exclusive license to top world soccer licenses, including FIFA and Euro cups.
October 12, 1998: Company opens a subsidiary in Korea.
September 23, 1998: Company sponsors 2nd Annual EA Sports Internet Tour with $65,000 in prize money.
August 17, 1998: Company announced intention to buy Westwood Studios and Burst from Virgin Interactive Entertainment.
August 4, 1998: Company enters into long term development agreement and makes investment in software developer Kodiak Interactive, who will develop WWF wrestling titles for EA.
July 28, 1998: Company acquires ABC Software to establish direct sales org in Switzerland and Austria.
June 1997: Company acquires Maxis in a US $125 million dollar stock transaction as a "fully-owned subsidiary" of EA.
April 8, 1996: Company acquires South African distributor Vision Software Ltd.
January 1995: Company acquires Bullfrog Productions, Ltd.
1994: Trip Hawkins resigns from the position of Chairman of the Board.
1994: Company opens an office in Spain.
July 1993: French office opened in St Didier au Mont d'Or, France.
1993: Company opens German office in Gütersloh, Germany.
1992: Company opens an office in Japan.
1992: Company acquires ORIGIN Systems, Inc.
1991: Company acquires Distinctive Software, Inc.
1991: Trip Hawkins resigns from the position of CEO. He remains as Chairman of the Board.
1990: Company went public at $ 8 per share. The stock's worth rose to $ 35 within a year.
1988: EA begins to direct distribute in Australia.
1987: EA begins to expand outside North America by opening an European office near London.
1985: Company begins to distribute games produced externally.
1984: Company begins to built their own distribution network.
1983: Company changes name into Electronic Arts.
1982: Company founded as Amazin' Software by Trip Hawkins.