Electronic Arts (EA) Launches Command & Conquer Remastered

Electronic Arts EA recently announced the availability of the Command & Conquer Remastered Collection on PC through Steam and Origin as well as part of the Origin Access Premier subscription.

The Remastered Collection was co-developed by EA and some members of the original Westwood Studios development team currently working at Petroglyph games. The collection comprises of Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn, Command & Conquer: Red Alert and their three expansion packs — Covert Ops, Counterstrike and The Aftermath.

The release also features native 4K support with rebuilt graphics and textures from Lemon Sky Studios and remastered music from original composer Frank Klepacki. Moreover, it comes with a revamped UI, updated controls, and a modernized online multiplayer experience.

Additionally, Command & Conquer is now one of the first ever real-time strategy (RTS) franchises to release their source code under the General Public License (GPL). Recently, TiberianDawn.dll and RedAlert.dll and their corresponding source code were released under the GPL version 3.0 license.

Command & Conquer Remastered Collection is currently available globally on Steam and Origin for $19.99. Origin Access premier subscribers will get full access to the collection, while Origin Access basic members well get 10% off the full game.

Electronic Arts Inc. Price and Consensus

 

Electronic Arts Inc. Price and Consensus

Electronic Arts Inc. price-consensus-chart | Electronic Arts Inc. Quote

 

Strengthening Portfolio Holds Promise

The Command & Conquer Remastered Collection is a significant addition to EA’s solid portfolio of games and is likely drive the company’s top line in the upcoming quarters.

In the fiscal fourth quarter, the company’s revenues rose 12% year over year to $1.38 billion. The upside can be attributed to solid performance of games like Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order, Apex Legends and FIFA 20.

Moreover, the original Command & Conquer was a hugely popular RTS series with large player base. Thus, the remastered release with its enhanced features is likely to aid EA attract new players to the franchise. Notably, per SteamDB data, the game has already recorded a peak of 42,587 concurrent players on Steam.

Additionally, EA’s strong momentum is expected to continue due to increased consumer spending on video games stemming from the COVID-19 induced stay-at-home orders. Notably, per Research and Markets data, the global gaming market is expected to CAGR of 12% between 2020 and 2025.

Further, the company has stated that it expects to deliver 14 titles in fiscal year 2021, which bodes well for its prospects in the days ahead.

Intensifying Competition

EA faces significant competition from the likes of Take Two Interactive Software TTWO, Nintendo NTDOY and Activision Blizzard ATVI, among others.

Notably, Take Two’s Red Dead Redemption 2 has sold 31 million copies while Borderlands 3 shipped 10 million units worldwide as of the last reported quarter. Moreover, Nintendo has stated that Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which released on Mar 20, sold more than 13.41 million copies in its first six weeks.

Activision is not far behind, with both Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Warzone becoming huge successes. Further, Take Two’s rumored Grand Theft Auto and Bully sequels, as well as Activision’s Shadowlands expansion for World of Warcraft are expected to intensify competition in the market.

Nevertheless, EA which currently carries a Zack Rank #2 (Buy), is well poised to benefit from its franchise strength, exciting content and constant stream of new releases. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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