‘Battlefield V’ Is Being Delayed and Electronic Arts’ Stock Is Plummeting

Electronic Arts Inc. postponed the release of the next Battlefield video game, while also cutting full-year guidance for net bookings.

The launch date of Battlefield V, the latest in the game-makers popular series, is being delayed by four weeks to Nov. 20, the company said in a statement Thursday. The company now sees net bookings of $5.20 billion for the fiscal year 2019 ending in March, down from $5.55 billion previously. The shares dropped 6.2 percent in early U.S. trading.

“We’re updating our fiscal year guidance to reflect the updated launch date for Battlefield V, the ongoing impact of foreign exchange rate changes, and our current outlook for our mobile business,” Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen said in the statement.

It’s the latest in a series of bad news for the video-game maker. Its earnings forecast on July 26 fell well short of Wall Street estimates, sending the shares tumbling. Patrick Soderlund, who runs EA’s worldwide game-development studios, announced this month he will leave to pursue “his next life adventure,” with his last day slated for Oct. 30. And earlier this week Electronic Arts canceled three Madden Classic qualifier events following a public shooting at an earlier competition in Florida.

The industry is also coping with a shift to mobile gaming, as well as the rise of the Fortnite phenomenon. Fortnite, a hugely popular shooting game produced by rival Epic Games, has threatened to steal away customers from Electronic Arts.