EA Chief Says There Will Be No ‘Significant Short-Term Impact’ From Video Game Actors Strike, Teases Expanding ‘The Sims’ Franchise

Video game giant Electronic Arts (EA) is “not anticipating any significant short-term impact” to the company’s titles as a result of the current SAG-AFTRA strike against major gaming publishers .

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“We deeply value our talented actors who are an important part of the work we do to deliver the incredible entertainment experiences that our players enjoy around the world,” EA CEO Andrew Wilson said during the company’s quarterly earnings call Tuesday. “We’re working very closely– this is not a EA-specific situation, this is an industry-specific situation, and we’re working diligently to negotiate at the table. The way it works now, in terms of our products, specifically, is the strike of limited to games commencing production after September 2023, including live-services games. So we don’t expect any near-term disruption to any of the games we have in development or any of the live services we’re currently running. That being said, we’re committed to continue to bargain in good faith and are hopeful that the parties can expediently resolve our issues at the bargaining table. But we’re not anticipating any significant short-term impact to EA.”

EA is among the major video game publishers that SAG-AFTRA went on strike against July 16 following a stalemate on negotiations for a new contract, with the major sticking point being A.I. protections for performers. Along with EA, the struck companies include Activision, Blindlight, Disney Character Voices, Formosa Interactive, Insomniac Games, Llama Productions, Take 2 Productions, VoiceWorks Productions and WB Games.

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Elsewhere in the call, Wilson answered an analyst question about the future of “The Sims” franchise by noting that EA is “committed to continually evolve ‘The Sims 4’ experience with over 15 updates in the coming year,” but also teased further updates to come at the company’s investor day Sept. 17.

“We are looking to add to that universe and really build out that community globally,” Wilson said. “And you should think about that in the context of more social interaction across ‘The Sims’ community and more platform expansion and modality of play expansion. And so while the teams will continue to advance and expand ‘The Sims 4,’ we will also be adding new experiences that bring deep social connection and broader platform expansion in key geographies around the world.”

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