Digital Illusions Reveals $6 Million Profits

Representatives from Swedish developer Digital Illusions CE (aka DICE) have announced the company’s financial results for the nine months ended September 30. During this time the company experienced a 23 percent increase in revenues to 172.8 million Swedish kronor ($24.7m). Pre-tax profits were up 30 percent on the same period last year, to 41.6 million Swedish kronor ($6.0m). In addition, the company also announced that the Battlefield series of PC online titles has sold 4.4 million copies since the release of Battlefield 1942 in 2002. Half of these sales have been in North America, with 45 percent in Europe. The company also revealed that it has signed a new contract with Electronic Arts, which owns a significant stake in the company, for a next-generation console title to launch in late 2006 or early 2007 – which will also have PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions to be created by the company’s Canadian studio. This is in additional to another unannounced action title that has been delayed until the same period, moving the game's focus from the current generation to the next. Digital Illusions was formed back in 1988 by Andreas Axelsson and Marcus Nyström, and originally gained a profile with a series of well-received pinball simulations for the Commodore Amiga, before moving on to racing games including Motorhead, Rallisport Challenge, and Midtown Madness 3, as well as the well-received Battlefield 1942 and its sequels. The company has added to its main office in Stockholm, Sweden in recent years, purchasing a studio in Ontario, Canada, and most recently Trauma Studios in New York, the original creators of the Desert Combat mod for Battlefield 1942.