EA's CEO on lessons learned from mobile Dungeon Keeper

With Dungeon Keeper's frequent ultimatum of giving into micro transactions or waiting hours to make another move, EA's mobile revival of the evil lair builder didn't win over many fans, new or old. Its reputation as one of the least player-friendly examples of free-to-play gaming was rampant closer to its launch, and discontent was widespread enough for EA CEO Andrew Wilson to hear about it. Speaking with Eurogamer about the mobile successor, Wilson described the situation as "a shame" and said EA had "misjudged the economy."

Wilson outlined two overarching types of feedback that EA received from the situation: staying as true as possible to a revived series' essence rather than purely going for new players is important, and that "when you're thinking about any business model, premium, subscription, free-to-play, value has to exist. Whether it's a dollar, $10, $100 or $1,000, you have to [deliver] value, and always err on the side of delivering more value, not less."

Achieving that sense of value can be tough, particularly in a series like Battlefield that offers purchasable content in season passes and deluxe editions on top of a $60 base price. Just as long as those pools missing from The Sims 4's launch aren't eventually sold to us in a water-focused expansion, right?