(Reuters) - Electronic Arts Inc (O:EA) forecast third-quarter revenue below Wall Street estimates on Tuesday, as the video-game publisher's delayed launch of its popular "Battlefield V" game hurt the company in an already crowded holiday-season game slate.
The company forecast third-quarter adjusted revenue of $1.73 billion, below analysts' average estimate of $2 billion, according to Refinitiv data.
EA and other game publishers, including rivals Activision Blizzard Inc (O:ATVI) and Take Two Interactive Software Inc (O:TTWO), have been challenged by the rise of games from the "battle royale" genre such as "Fortnite".
Activision and Take-Two have already launched the latest versions of their popular game franchises, such as "Call of Duty: Black Ops 4" and "Red Dead Redemption 2", making it a competitive holiday season for EA.
EA's net income was $255 million, or 83 cents per share, in the second quarter ended Sept. 30, compared to a loss of $22 million, or 7 cents per share, a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, revenue was $1.22 billion, beating estimates of $1.18 billion.
In late August, EA said it would be delaying the launch of its highly anticipated 'Battlefield V' game by nearly a month to Nov. 20.
Due to the delay, the game publisher had cut its full-year adjusted revenue forecast to $5.20 billion from $5.55 billion.