Oct 28 (Reuters) - Electronic Arts ( EA ) missed Wall

Street expectations for second-quarter bookings on Tuesday,

weighed down by uncertain spending on its core sports portfolio

and difficult growth comparisons to a strong launch of "College

Football 25" last year.

The results are EA's first since announcing its decision to

be acquired by a group of private investors, including Saudi

Arabia's Public Investment Fund, for $55 billion.

EA is betting heavily on its core action and sports titles

to weather an uncertain gaming market marked by high console

prices, and gamers sticking to proven franchises amid a highly

competitive year-end period.

EA launched "College Football 25" last year, reviving the

franchise after a long hiatus and attracting strong spending

from core fans, becoming one of the best-selling games.

The take-private deal was announced just before EA was set

to launch the latest installment in its best-selling

"Battlefield" franchise, which went on to sell over seven

million copies during the first three days.

With "Battlefield 6" off to a strong start and close rival

"Call of Duty" seeing player fatigue, investors are now focused

on the game's long-term financial prospects as EA plans to

release regular content updates to keep players engaged and

spending.

Some analysts expect "Battlefield 6" to sell over 15 million

units in EA's fiscal 2026 and could even reach 20 million.

EA said bookings for its prominent soccer title "FC 26" were

up mid-single digits compared to the title's predecessor,

despite some analyst warnings of softer performance.

The company's second-quarter bookings fell 13% to $1.82

billion, compared with the average estimate of $1.88 billion,

according to data compiled by LSEG.

The company reported net income of $137 million in the

second quarter, compared with $294 million a year earlier.