(Reuters) -Videogame publisher Electronic Arts on Wednesday cut its forecast for annual bookings, citing weakness across its established soccer franchise, sparking concerns over a slowdown in the key division and sending its shares tumbling nearly 11%.

EA now expects net bookings to come in at $2.2 billion for the quarter, down from a prior projection of between $2.4 billion to $2.6 billion.

EA CEO Andrew Wilson has confirmed EA Sports FC 25 and Dragon Age: The Veilguard did not meet sales expectations.

NEW: EA is slashing its forecast for the fiscal year due to the underperformance of holiday games EA Sports FC 25 and Dragon Age: The Veilguard. EA says the new Dragon Age reached around 1.5 million players, missing expectations by nearly 50%. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

After 14 years, EA will retire its controversial Origin game distribution app for Windows, the company announced. Origin will stop working on April 17, 2025. Folks still using it will be directed to install the newer EA app, which launched in 2022.

Electronic Arts (EA) has announced the end of Origin, its 14-year-old game launcher. The company will sunset Origin this April, forcing gamers with EA titles to open them via the newer EA app.

EA's Origin PC client has officially reached the end of the line. The gaming company had previously announced its plans to rebrand the Origin app for desktop players back in 2020 and began rolling out the new EA app in 2022.