Things have not been going well in the video game industry. Many of the biggest publishers have been conducting mass layoffs, with Xbox in the process of axing over 3,000 employees. By contrast, the massive success of Battlefield 6 has been a rare big win for Electronic Arts, driving a record year for the company. That is, unless you actually worked on the game. After laying off Battlefield 6 developers, a financial document published yesterday reveals that EA CEO Andrew Wilson made out like a bandit.
As per Eurogamer, an Electronic Arts filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reveals that Wilson earned a total of $38,649,984 during the previous fiscal year, the vast majority of which is from stock awards, a non-equity incentive plan, and “other compensation.” That’s up over $8 million from what he made last year. Meanwhile, the rest of the named executive officers — Stuart Canfield, Laura Miele, Mala Singh, and Jacob Schatz — made over $11.3 million, $13.7 million, $8.4 million, and $8.5 million, respectively.
EA recorded $7.531 billion in net revenue last fiscal year, which is up 9%. “Driven by our talented teams and disciplined execution, we delivered a record FY26, highlighted by the incredibly successful launch of our iconic Battlefield franchise,” Wilson said in a financial report.
Battlefield 6 was the biggest launch in franchise history and became the first game in the series to outsell a Call of Duty game released in the same year. It was the highest-selling game in the U.S. in 2025, selling over 20 million copies by December, according to analyst Rhys Elliott. Despite this overwhelming success, EA laid off an unspecified number of developers in March across Criterion, Dice, Ripple Effect, and Motive Studios as part of a “realignment.”
In a statement to IGN at the time, an EA spokesperson wrote, “We’ve made select changes within our Battlefield organization to better align our teams around what matters most to our community. Battlefield remains one of our biggest priorities, and we’re continuing to invest in the franchise, guided by player feedback and insights from Battlefield Labs.”
While the game industry is in the middle of tough times caused by hardware shortages, rising development costs, and increasingly crowded release calendars, it is deeply depressing that even the industry’s success stories lead to layoffs, as business executives reap most of the financial windfall. While Battlefield 6 reportedly went over budget, the cost of that clearly hurt rank-and-file employees instead of affecting leadership.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is in the midst of acquiring EA in a $55 billion transaction that also includes private equity fund Silver Lake and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners. The European Commission recently approved the deal, putting it closer to fruition.
