How many players should Anthem have at once? According to Electronic Arts, the online shooter is expected to sell about 6 million copies in the first 6 weeks. EA was disappointed by similar sales figures for Battlefield 5 in 2018, but for a new brand, that would be remarkable.
These are EA’s expectations for Anthem: As announced by Electronic Arts’ CFO, Blake Jorgensen, EA expects to sell 5 to 6 million units of Anthem by the end of the fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2019.
So Anthem has only 6 weeks to sell about the number of copies that Battlefield 5 has sold since its release.
This is what EA says: The CEO of Electronic Arts, Andrew Wilson, stated that the expectations for Anthem have not changed compared to the last quarter.
Even the technical difficulties of the demo have not dampened expectations.
According to Wilson, the demo made it clear to people that Anthem is a different game than anything they have played before. Wilson believes there is a great opportunity for Anthem, not just this year, but the title is expected to sell well for a long time, while continuously expanding the game.
How many units is that in comparison? With 6 million units sold, Anthem would be about as strong as Battlefield 5, which sold around 6.2 million copies – but fell short of expectations and was a disappointment. EA had actually expected to sell a million more units of Battlefield 5.
EA’s stock plummeted when the weak sales figures of Battlefield 5 became known.
Battlefield 5, however, was in a completely different situation as an established franchise compared to the “new brand” Anthem.
For BioWare’s last game, Mass Effect Andromeda, there are no exact sales figures. It is assumed to have sold about 2 million units. Currently, the franchise is on ice.
Three years ago, a game comparable to Anthem, “The Division,” sold four million units in its first week. It was celebrated as a huge hit for Ubisoft. The Division was also a “new franchise.”
It will be interesting to see how Anthem actually sells. After all, some players will get the shooter through the “subscription” Origin Access Premier to start a week early.
