Instead of frontloading the console cycle with new intellectual properties, EA is planning to spread its software creativity through the next few years. Speaking with CVG at this week’s Gamescom, EA Labels boss Frank Gibeau confirmed that there are around six fresh IPs in development at this time.
However, what Gibeau considers brand new franchises might be different than what you expect. The latest Mirror's Edge, Battlefront, and Dragon Age games all fit into the mold, as most of them are attempting to reinvent what has been done before.
"We've now got half a dozen [original IPs] in development. We've announced a couple of them, Mirror's Edge and Battlefront, but we've also added some as well. The last time I spoke about this we hadn't done the Star Wars deal, so there are those games, too,” Gibeau said. "We're going to try and announce the new projects in the next couple of years – so in years two to three in the next-gen cycle, the plan is each year you'll see one to two new IP from us coming out.”
The latest UFC game and Respawn Entertainment’s Titanfall are also on the docket for 2014, so really, EA has plenty to be proud of. But unlike other major publishers, EA isn’t pushing new ideas too early in the lifecycle.
"We're not [building new franchises] on the first day of release, we like to build a bit of the base," he said. "We have a broader portfolio, we've got a sports business, we've got Need For Speed, so we have more to bring over in terms of existing and healthy and growing franchises, and so we want to add a little bit more there.”