Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the designers and programmers responsible for its games as "software artists". EA published numerous games and some productivity software for personal computers, all of which were developed by external individuals or groups until 1987's Skate or Die!. The company shifted toward internal game studios, often through acquisitions, such as Distinctive Software becoming EA Canada in 1991.
Madden NFL is an American football sports video game series developed by EA Tiburon for EA Sports. The franchise, named after Pro Football Hall of Fame coach and commentator John Madden, has sold more than 130 million copies as of 2018. Since 2004, it has been the only officially licensed National Football League (NFL) video game series, and has influenced many players and coaches of the physical sport. Among the series' features are detailed playbooks and player statistics and voice commentary in the style of a real NFL television broadcast. As of 2013 the franchise has generated over $4 billion in sales, making it one of the most profitable video game franchises on the market.
EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) with pictures or endorsements. It soon grew up to become a sub-label on its own, releasing game series such as EA Sports FC, PGA Tour, NHL, NBA Live, and Madden NFL.
FIFA is a discontinued football video game franchise developed by EA Vancouver and EA Romania and published by EA Sports. As of 2011, the FIFA franchise has been localized into 18 languages and available in 51 countries. Listed in Guinness World Records as the best-selling sports video game franchise in the world, the FIFA series has sold over 325 million copies as of 2021. On 10 May 2022, it was announced that EA and FIFA's partnership of 30 years would come to an end upon the termination of their licensing agreement, making FIFA 23 the last entry to the franchise under the FIFA name. As a successor to the FIFA series, EA launched the EA Sports FC franchise, with EA Sports FC 24 being the first installment under the new name.
NCAA Football is an American football video game series developed by EA Sports in which players control and compete against current Division I FBS college teams. It served as a college football counterpart to the Madden NFL series. The series began in 1993 with the release of Bill Walsh College Football. EA eventually acquired the licensing rights to the NCAA name and officially rechristened the series with the release of NCAA Football 98.
ESPN NFL 2K5 is an American football video game developed by Visual Concepts for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox consoles. Co-Published by Global Star Software and Sega, it is the sixth installment of the NFL 2K series and the last to use official NFL licensing. Gameplay is presented as a live ESPN television broadcast and features the voices and digital likenesses of multiple ESPN on-air personalities.
Frostbite is a game engine developed by DICE, designed for cross-platform use on Microsoft Windows, seventh generation game consoles PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, eighth generation game consoles PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch and ninth generation game consoles PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, in addition to usage in the cloud streaming service Google Stadia.
NBA Live 14 is a basketball video game released on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2013. It is the first NBA Live game on the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. NBA Live 14 features Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers as its cover athlete. It is one of the most negatively received games in its franchise. NBA Live 14 was followed by NBA Live 15 which was released in October 2014. The game marks the first installment in the series since NBA Live 10 in 2009.
EA Sports UFC is a mixed martial arts fighting video game developed in a collaboration between EA Canada and SkyBox Labs, and published by EA Sports for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It is based on the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) brand and was released on June 17, 2014. A playable demo was released on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Marketplace on June 3, 2014, with cover athletes Jon "Bones" Jones and Alexander "The Mauler" Gustafsson as playable fighters. It is the first UFC game since THQ sold the license to Electronic Arts.
Madden NFL 25 is an American football sports video game based on the National Football League and published by EA Sports. It was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in August 2013. Instead of numbering it Madden NFL 14 with the year like in previous versions, the "25" in the title refers to the 25th anniversary of the Madden NFL series. The eighth-generation console versions of Madden NFL 25 are the very first games to run on EA Sports's Ignite game engine. However, the seventh generation versions still run on EA's previous game engine, Impact. The seventh-generation versions featured former Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders on the cover, while the eighth-generation versions featured Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, and were released as launch titles for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in November 2013.
Madden NFL 15 is an American football sports video game based on the National Football League and published by EA Sports. The game was announced for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One on April 28, 2014, and was released on August 26, 2014, in the United States and Europe three days later. As in previous years, EA Sports conducted a fan vote via ESPN to elect the cover athlete for the game. Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman won the cover vote and the rest of the Legion of Boom defense was featured on the game's start menu. The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions are based on Madden NFL 25.
Rory McIlroy PGA Tour is a sports video game developed by EA Tiburon and published by Electronic Arts for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It is an entry in the EA Sports PGA Tour franchise, and was the first series since 1999 not to feature Tiger Woods as its namesake, replacing him with Rory McIlroy.
Madden NFL 16 is an American football sports video game based on the National Football League and published by EA Sports for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. Madden 16 introduced the new game mode "Draft Champions" to Madden. The game was released on August 25, 2015. The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions are based on Madden NFL 25.
Madden NFL 17 is an American football sports video game based on the National Football League and published by EA Sports for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One and Xbox 360. As the 28th installment of the Madden NFL series, the game was released on August 23, 2016 and features New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski on the cover. It was the last Madden NFL game to be released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions are based on Madden NFL 25.
NHL 17 is an ice hockey simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by EA Sports. It is the 26th installment in the NHL game series and was released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles in September 2016.
Madden NFL 18 is an American football sports video game based on the National Football League, developed and published by EA Sports for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The 29th installment of the Madden NFL series, the game features New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady on the cover, the second straight year a Patriots player has had the distinction, following tight end Rob Gronkowski.
Madden NFL 21 is an American football video game based on the National Football League (NFL), developed by EA Tiburon and published by Electronic Arts. It is an installment of the long-running Madden NFL series. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on August 28, 2020, and for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on December 4, 2020. It features Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson as the cover athlete, and Brandon Gaudin and Charles Davis as its in-game commentators. The game received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its gameplay but criticized its technical issues, while player reception was negative, with many heavily criticizing the lack of innovation.
NHL 22 is an ice hockey simulation video game developed by EA Vancouver and published by EA Sports. It is the 31st installment in the NHL video game series and was released for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on October 15, 2021. It is the first entry in the series to use the Frostbite engine, and utilizes the new game engine on all four platforms. The game features Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews as the cover athlete for the second time in the series, after being the North American cover athlete for NHL 20.
