Music, and how it is essential to our interactive experiences

Music shapes how players and fans experience EA’s worlds, painting every scene with emotion and guiding them through stories that resonate long after the screen goes dark.

From the first note of a trailer that stirs the heart, to the game-defining tracks that become part of cultural memory. Whether it’s the sounds playing as you dive under a tank in Battlefield 6, juking a defender as you run for a touchdown in EA SPORTS™ Madden NFL 26, or building a new relationship in The Sims 4, music is the invisible thread that pulls players deeper into the moment.

Music is a vibrant part of that tapestry, showing how sound can unite people, spark imagination, and deepen the stories we tell across every corner of EA.

Battlefield 6 features “Break Stuff” by Limp Bizkit.

“When people come to play our games, they could be doing anything else. It’s their best time. The fact that music is an amplifier–it amplifies that positive energy and feeling. It’s core to those experiences.”

Music and play

When Anthony Stevenson, SVP of Entertainment Publishing, thinks of music and EA, the first thing that comes to mind are the soundtracks.

For decades, EA’s soundtracks have become cultural touchstones. EA SPORTS™ Madden NFL helped introduce (and reintroduce) millions of players and fans to musicians and artists, like when Green Day debuted “American Idiot” in EA SPORTS™ Madden NFL 2005. Battlefield 1 took The White Stripes' beloved “Seven Nation Army” and made a moment. And most recently, Battlefield 6 worked with Limp Bizkit to bring back to life their chart-topping “Break Stuff”.

“If I said to you we can take a song that every single person on the planet knows so well, and we can make it our own, you’d probably roll your eyes,” says Anthony. “But we have done it again and again. Music has played a critical role in people coming in and connecting.”

Yet to Anthony, music is not just a key element to our games. It’s part and parcel to everything surrounding our interactive experiences.

“Video games sit at this cool intersection of culture with fashion, entertainment, sports, and of course music,” says Anthony. “Our games bring this together. It’s the straw that stirs the drink.”

And how our players and fans interact with that is evolving in new and exciting ways.

EA SPORTS Madden NFL 26’s reveal trailer features KC and The Sunshine Band’s “Get Down Tonight”.

“Our video games are platforms. But they’re no longer just our platforms.”

Technology is transformative

Technology has transformed music in games. It’s no longer a one-way delivery of songs to players. It’s a space for collaboration.

Players remix trailers, integrate tracks into streams, build communities, and create their own content in and around EA’s experiences. 

These new communities and connection points blending with emerging technologies will lead to greater things, Anthony believes.

“Technology is fundamentally disrupting the music industry,” says Anthony. “Typically, two things happen when technology fundamentally disrupts art. The first thing that happens is people go, ‘How can I do the thing I used to do easier, or better?’ That’s where people start. The real magic happens when they ask, ‘How do I use that technology to do something that’s never been done?’”

“The role of music in these player-driven experiences is going to be incredible,” adds Anthony.

“The real magic happens when they ask, ‘How do I use that technology to do something that’s never been done?’”

Staying curious

From groundbreaking artist partnerships to global community moments to the creative tools shaping the future of play, music at EA continues to evolve in bold new ways.

At EA, we celebrate not just how music shapes our games, but the people and players who inspire what’s possible. Together, we’re building the next generation of immersive, emotional, and unforgettable experiences—where music continues to open doors, spark imagination, and lead us into the future of play.

Check out other amazing EA stories on ea.com/news.