Two different ways of measuring executive pay put EA CEO Andrew Wilson's fiscal year 2026 compensation at either roughly US$39 million or nearly double that — US$77 million — according to a report by Game File, as covered by Eurogamer on 7 August 2026.

The gap comes down to stock valuation. EA's own reported figure, filed in its annual proxy statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, uses the value of EA stock at the start of the fiscal year — under US$150 per share. The higher figure uses a metric called "compensation actually paid," which the SEC prefers, and calculates stock awards at their end-of-year value. EA's stock closed the fiscal year at US$202 per share, widening the gap considerably. IGN, reporting on the SEC filings, placed Wilson's total reported compensation at US$38.6 million — an US$8 million raise over the prior year.

The SEC argues that end-of-year stock value more closely reflects what an executive actually receives from their awards. Many companies push back on that logic, saying the "compensation actually paid" figure distorts the real picture because stock prices fluctuate for reasons beyond an executive's control.

Either way, the numbers land against a stark internal contrast. The median EA worker earned US$127,000 in 2026, according to Game File. Wilson's pay, by either measure, is hundreds of times that.

Wilson's fiscal year 2026 pay package also arrived in the wake of layoffs at studios developing Battlefield 6. EA's fiscal year ran from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, as reported in the company's Q4 and full-year results on 5 May 2026.

EA itself underwent a major ownership change during that period. On 29 September 2025, the publisher announced an agreement to be acquired by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners for US$5.5 billion, with shareholders receiving US$210 per share in cash. EA is now privately held by those three investors. Wilson, who serves as both chairman and CEO, also worked as a special advisor to Silver Lake from December 2024 to September 2025, according to a proxy statement filed with the SEC.

For context, EA's fiscal year 2026 net bookings — a measure of revenue that counts digital sales and live-service content as they are delivered to players — were guided at approximately US$7.6 billion to US$8 billion. The first quarter alone brought in US$1.298 billion in net bookings, exceeding the company's own forecast.

What makes the pay figures resonate beyond EA is that they reflect a familiar pattern across the games industry: executive compensation rising in the same window that studios shed staff. The "compensation actually paid" metric, whatever its flaws, makes the gap between the top and the median harder to look away from.