EA forecasts 40% net bookings drop for Apex Legends in 2025/2026

Electronic Arts (EA) shared that it is expecting a 40% reduction in net-bookings for Apex Legends in the financial year, which goes from April 1st, 2025-March 31st, 2026.

Despite the decrease, EA is expecting a stronger performance for the game in the first half of the year, and remains committed to investing ‘in the long-term evolution of the franchise.’

In the press release detailing Q4 of the 2025 fiscal year, EA explained that net bookings are defined as the net amount of products and services sold both digitally or physically in that period. Therefore, net bookings can be calculated by adding the total net revenue to the change in ‘deferred net revenue for online-enabled games.’

The press release went into further details surrounding its Q1 fiscal year of 2026, ending June 30th, 2025. In it, EA predicted net bookings would reach between $1.175 billion to $1.275 billion. Notably, it expected to see growth in its live service titles ‘excluding Apex Legends,’ predicting an offset of ‘approximately five points of headwind’ from the battle royale game.

EA’s stock increased by 5% according to the Q4 2025 fiscal year report, but it has had its fair share of challenges with regard to some titles. Despite the predicted shortcomings, EA remains confident in Apex Legends, expecting a stronger performance from the game in the first half of the 2025/2026 fiscal year.

According to a transcript of the earnings call, Stewart Canfield, CFO of EA, said: “While Apex Legends has tracked in line with our expectations the past two quarters, our FY26 guide assumes an approximately 40% year-over-year decline in net bookings.

“We expect stronger headwinds in the first half of the fiscal year, followed by more moderate declines in the back half. We continue to focus on delivering for our core players and investing in the long-term evolution of the franchise.”

Apex Legends’ esports scene has gotten off to a strong start this year, most notably with Team Falcons’ recent victory at ALGS Open in 2025. With ALGS 2025 Season 1 just around the corner, Apex Legends still has every opportunity to succeed in the esports ecosystem.

According to Esports Charts, Apex Legends has yet to top its 2023 peak, but 2025 has seen a modicum of success so far. So far, there is a peak viewership of over 540,000 during the ALGS 2024 Championship, one of nine tournaments held this year, which also offered a $2 million (~£1.6 million) prize pool.

It also saw strong performance in 2024, with a peak viewership of over 567,000 during the ALGS 2021 Split 1 Playoffs, and saw over $6.2 million (~£4.96 million) offered across 103 different tournaments.