Riccitiello joy as EA makes $1bn in digital

Electronic Arts hit a landmark milestone in 2011, having sold $1 billion of digital goods across mobiles, consoles and social networks.

John Riccitiello, CEO of the California publishing giant, said Electronic Arts left 2011 “as a very different company”.

“We empowered our creative teams, strengthened our IP and made progress in building a digital platform for our games and services,” he said.

“One year ago, we set a stretch goal to grow our digital business to $1 billion annually. I’m proud to say that we achieved that goal in Calendar Year 2011. Crossing the $1 billion threshold is an incredibly important milestone – congratulations!”

Riccitiello explained that the firm’s digital division, EA Interactive, would no longer stand alone as an isolated entity. Instead, it will merge into others, from core games to mobile.

It has become “abundantly clear” that the digital transformation is not confined to a single EA group, but all of them, Riccitiello said.