A new generation of consoles is coming this year, and while that means plenty of brand new next-gen games, a fair number of current-gen games will also be available on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Normally this leaves gamers facing the choice of which version of these games to go with, but it looks like EA will make the decision much easier by offering free cross-gen upgrades for its titles.
Company CFO Blake Jorgensen confirmed as much during an earnings briefing yesterday, during which the publisher discussed its plans for the coming fiscal year. “Note that this year the phasing includes the effect of revenue recognition from the games we are launching for the current generation of consoles that can also be upgraded for free for the next generation,” he said amid his official prepared statements, further cementing this deal as a definitive part of EA’s plans for its cross-gen titles.
Unfortunately, Jorgensen didn’t go into further detail beyond stating that this move won’t affect EA’s net bookings or cash flow for the fiscal year. As such, it’s hard to tell at this time how this program will work for consumers, or even if it is its own program. It could very well be that he’s simply referring to the fact that the PS5 will support backward compatibility with most PS4 games, while the XSX will be compatible with all Xbox One titles.
Another option could be the Smart Delivery feature that Microsoft revealed earlier this year. This will let anyone who buys the Xbox One version of a game get the XSX version at no extra cost. So far, though, details are also a bit lacking there, as the only games confirmed to be utilizing Smart Delivery at this time are Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Cyberpunk 2077.
Whatever the case, the fact remains that EA will have plenty of games for both current and next-gen gamers alike. It was confirmed at the earnings briefing that the publisher plans to launch 14 new games by the end of the current fiscal year in March 2021, many of which, including the next FIFA, Madden, and NHL games, will be available on the PS5 and XSX. It’s also possible that the next Battlefield is one of those games, as it’s currently slated to come out next year.
The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X are slated to launch this holiday season.
Source: EA