UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of report (Date of earliest event reported) January 28, 2019
ELECTRONIC ARTS INC.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
| Delaware | 0-17948 | 94-2838567 | ||
| (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation) | (Commission File Number) | (IRS Employer Identification No.) |
209 Redwood Shores Parkway, Redwood City, California 94065-1175
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)
(650) 628-1500
(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)
(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):
| ☐ | Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) |
| ☐ | Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
| ☐ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) |
| ☐ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933(17 CFR §230.405) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 CFR §240.12b-2).
Emerging growth company ☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
| Item 8.01 | Other Events. |
As previously disclosed in Electronic Arts Inc.’s (“EA’s”) Form 10-Q filing for the quarter ended September 30, 2018 filed on November 6, 2018, EA has been engaged in discussions with governmental authorities in Belgium regarding certain in-game mechanics used in the FIFA Ultimate Team service included in FIFA 18. On January 28, 2019, EA announced in a blog posting on its website at www.ea.com/news that resulting from those discussions, it has decided to stop offering FIFA Points for sale in Belgium. A copy of the blog posting is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1. The impact of this change to FIFA Ultimate Team in Belgium is not material to our financial performance.
| Item 9.01 | Financial Statements and Exhibits. |
(d) Exhibits.
| Exhibit No. |
Description | |
| 99.1 | EA Blog Posting from www.ea.com/news dated January 28, 2019. | |
INDEX TO EXHIBITS
| Exhibit No. |
Description | |
| 99.1 | EA Blog Posting from www.ea.com/news dated January 28, 2019. | |
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| ELECTRONIC ARTS INC. | ||||||
| Dated: January 29, 2019 | By: | /s/ Jacob J. Schatz | ||||
| Jacob J. Schatz | ||||||
| Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary | ||||||
Exhibit 99.1
The below was posted to www.ea.com/news on January 28, 2019
After further discussions with the Belgian authorities, we have decided to stop offering FIFA Points for sale in Belgium. We’re working to make these changes effective in our FIFA console and PC games by January 31, 2019. This means that players in Belgium will not be able to purchase points to obtain FIFA Ultimate Team packs. Players still can access Ultimate Team and play with their existing players. All content in the game can be earned through gameplay, as has always been the case, and players can continue to use coins and the in-game transfer market. Any players in Belgium that have existing FIFA Points in their accounts can continue to use them, but they will not be able to purchase more. We apologize to our players in Belgium for any inconvenience caused by this change.
We seek to bring choice, fairness, value and fun to our players in all our games. In addition to providing players options in how they play, we include pack probabilities in our games for the transparency players want to make informed content choices. While we are taking this action, we do not agree with Belgian authorities’ interpretation of the law, and we will continue to seek more clarity on the matter as we go forward. The impact of this change to FIFA Ultimate Team in Belgium is not material to our financial performance.