Underpaying employees

In 2006 this company paid out US$30 million to settle two class action lawsuits. EA paid $15.6 million to settle a class-action lawsuit by computer graphic artists seeking overtime compensation. Then EA settled another lawsuit, paying US$14.9 million to programmers at various levels.

Source: news article (2006)

Poor working conditions

In 2020 Kotaku reported that the development process for Electronic Arts' Anthem game was fraught with indecision and mismanagement. This resulted in many workers suffering depression, anxiety and mental breakdowns, with many employees leaving the company. The final year of development involved lengthy overtime and lots of exhaustion, only to create a game panned by fans and critics.

Source: Kotaku (2020)

20.4% in Newsweek Green Rankings 2016

This company received a score of 20.4/100 in the Newsweek Green Rankings 2016, which ranks the world's largest publicly traded companies on eight indicators covering energy, greenhouse gases, water, waste, fines and penalties, linking executive pay to sustainability targets, board-level committee oversight of environmental issues and third-party audits. Ranking methodology by Corporate Knights and HIP Investor.

Source: Newsweek (2016)

Loot box lawsuit

While EA denies its loot boxes are a form of gambling, Belgium and Holland have banned the paid loot box system, and the company faces a lawsuit in France over the practice. EA made almost $1 billion in 3 months from microtransactions alone in late 2019.

Source: news article (2020)

CEO Pay Ratio of 159:1

In 2022 the median pay for a worker at this company was US$129,851. The CEO was paid 159 times this amount. Exorbitant CEO pay is a major contributor to rising inequality. CEOs are getting more because of their power to set pay, not because they are increasing productivity or possess specific, high-demand skills. The economy would suffer no harm if CEOs were paid less (or taxed more). In contrast, the CEO-to-typical-worker compensation ratio was 20-to-1 in 1965 and 58-to-1 in 1989.

Source: AFL-CIO (2023)

Fair Play Alliance member

This company is a member of the Fair Play Alliance, a global coalition of gaming professionals and companies committed to developing quality games. They provide a forum for gaming professionals and companies to work together to develop and share best practices in encouraging healthy communities and awesome player interactions in online gaming. They envision a world where games are free of harassment, discrimination, and abuse, and where players can express themselves through play.

Source: Fair Play Alliance (2020)

Environmental claims

This company has environmental claims on its website including in the area of environmental sustainability by reduction of their carbon footprint with digital products, supply chain management and green office initiatives.

Source: company website (2020)

Modern Slavery statement

California, the UK and Australia have all enacted legislation requiring companies operating within their borders to disclose their efforts to eradicate modern slavery from their operations and supply chains. Follow the link to see this company's disclosure statement.

Source: company website (2020)

JUST Capital ranking

JUST Capital polls Americans every year to identify the issues that matter most in defining just business behaviour. For their 2024 rankings the public identified 20 issues, which are organised under the headings Workers, Communities, Customers, Shareholders and Environment. JUST Capital then define metrics that map to those issues and track and analyse the largest, publicly traded U.S. companies. This analysis powers their rankings, in which this company ranked 264th of 937 companies, and 4th of 16 Household & Leisure Goods companies.

Source: JUST Capital (2024)

Criticism of EA - Wikipedia

Criticism of EA includes studio acquisitions and closures, treatment of employees, game quality, sports licensing and exclusivity and loot boxes.

Source: Wikipedia (2020)