EA Head of Esports on cross-title strategy and what’s next for the Esports World Cup

EA Head of Esports, Monica Dinsmore, spoke with Esports Insider (ESI) at the Esports World Cup about how EA organizes its esports operations across titles, the growing overlap between esports and real-world sports, EA’s mobile push, and what could be next for the Esports World Cup.

Over the first weekend of competition, EA had one of the broadest publisher footprints at the Esports World Cup. The Apex Legends Global Series Split 1 Playoffs saw a sold-out crowd watch a cracking spectacle as the game’s match-point format delivered an evening of drama and storylines aplenty.

In the very same expo hall, over 500 EA FC hopefuls descended on the French capital, hoping to earn their chance to compete with the world’s elite gamers for their share of a prize pool exceeding $1,000,000.

ESI: What does a genuinely cross-title EA esports team actually look like day to day?

Monica Dinsmore: We have experts who go really deep with each title that sit within functions that span across titles. For example, league operations, marketing, PR and comms, social, all of the different functions that make up an esports team have folks that can span multiple. It gives them the opportunity to share best practices and learn from each other.

Then we have people that will go really, really deep, people that have got to know the rules and the regulations by title inside and out, people that know the community of Apex or EA FC, for example, better than anyone else, so that they can create content that really speaks to the fans. So it’s kind of a mix of functional experts who go really deep within each of those titles.

ESI: Is an Apex fan different from a sports fan, or can you still treat them similarly, since an Apex fan can be an NFL fan too?

Monica Dinsmore: Yeah, it’s not very often, but it is really cool when it does happen. I think that fandom is very similar regardless of the game. It really reflects the passion that you have for the community. It really shows the passion that you have for the game. Sports (franchises) present a little bit differently in opportunities for fandom because you could be a fan of a real-life sport.

You could be a player of a real-life sport as well as a gamer, but similarly you would be a fan of a team or a club in Apex. Where fandom is similar, the approach is similar, but it’s really important that we listen to our communities and we give them what they want.

Most of the motivations for watching esports are very similar across games. They want to get better. They want to celebrate their community. They want to be a fan of a player or a team. So that approach is very similar, but there are nuances as to what fans are actually passionate about within your game itself.

ESI: You had the Champions League final in Budapest, alongside the Champions League.

Monica Dinsmore: I love those moments.

ESI: What does that tell you about where esports meets real-world sports, and what those moments tell you about the merge of where we’re going in terms of audience?

Monica Dinsmore: I think we’re seeing more and more, especially on the sports side, that gaming and esports are often a younger fan’s first foray into a real-life sport. They might learn about the sport. They would learn the rules. They would learn all of the positions on the pitch or on the football field. They would learn about their favorite players, their favorite teams through the game.

And in some cases, watching a real-life football match on TV or attending one in person isn’t possible, so you’re experiencing football through video games. You mentioned the Champions League.

That’s an amazing moment, where the winner of the eChampions League is awarded the trophy on the pitch, and I was there. It was an amazing experience. Those are very unique and special to EA Sports, and showing up at the NFL Super Bowl alongside everything that’s going on is also a really amazing opportunity that is uniquely EA.

We’ve talked about the [traditional football] World Cup and that experience of fandom that’s just rabid across countries, and every sports bar is full of fans. It’s something that I think we can get to. It’s a great target for the future of esports.

ESI: You started your role as head of esports in January 2025. What’s the biggest change in your approach been since you started from where you are now?

Monica Dinsmore: Well, we touched a little bit on it. It was organizing the team in a way that we can learn from each other, that teams can experience different titles. We’ve gotten significantly closer to the franchises.

We’re really operating as a growth driver; we are responsible for the engagement of the corest of the core, so we work really closely with our franchise teams to understand what’s going on, what their behaviors are, what they care about, and we design our competitive ecosystems with that in mind.

We’ve seen a lot of innovations over the last year or so in how we provide viewing opportunities with POV streams and similar features in Apex. I feel like we’ve done so much.

We’ve seen an amazing partnership with the city of Sapporo and ALGS. We’ve continued to build on the success of the EAFC Pro, which is only in its 3rd year. We’ve seen the viewing, the on-site experience, evolve into fan-fests and opportunities for brands to show up, and Sapporo is a really great example.

I just think that our competitions look and feel better, bigger, more exciting, and that’s a result of us listening to our fans.

I guess the other thing that I would add is that closeness to the franchise also includes the closeness with the dev team, so you will see more integration with in-game opportunities like better drops, better opportunities to see what’s going on in esports inside the game. We’re looking forward to continuing that close connection.

ESI: Let’s talk FC Pro Mobile. It seems like mobile is your biggest bet in reaching a new type of esports fan. How different is it for you building for a mobile audience, and have you seen any challenges in the mobile space?

Monica Dinsmore: Yeah, I think we’ve had the benefit of testing and learning over the course of the last couple of years. We’ve had some festivals that have been really successful, and our approach is first, let’s see how the community is competing, then let’s give them the ability to compete on a stage and organize some tournaments.

If we see success there, then we’ll build something more formal around it. I think kicking off in Asia makes a lot of sense because the region is very mobile-first, so we’ll start by building on the success of that program and hope to make it a truly global program that looks and feels very similar to EA FC.

I think the only other thing I would add is that there’s a lot of interest in our league and club partners within the FC ecosystem to reach new international audiences as well, so they’re all really excited that we’re kicking off a new property in Asia.

ESI: You’ve previously mentioned moving from an esports winter to an esports spring. Beyond the vibe, what is the evidence for that? Where do you see that growth, if you were asked to show me the spring?

Monica Dinsmore: It is a vibe. I mean, honestly, I would probably just take you over to the arena right now and show you the amount of effort, passion, investment that’s happening not only from esports World Cup Foundation, but the city of Paris, the country of France, and the fact that all of these AAA publishers are here together to celebrate their games and celebrate the esports community.

I think it’s just indicative of us maturing as an industry together, and we’ve got Esports Nations Cup coming up, which is going to be an awesome way for fans to express new ways of celebrating their games, but this is just indicative of the level of investment, the level of belief, the level of passion for all of us to show up here and give our fans such an amazing experience. So I think that’s it, just look around.

If you wanted me to prove it, that’s what I’d do. I’d walk you right over there and show you.

ESI: Is there potential for EA’s Esports World Cup titles to broaden? What does next year look like, and are the North American sports titles so regionalized that they’re difficult to expand?

Monica Dinsmore: Well, I always want to do more. I think that there is an interest, a mutual interest between the Esports World Cup Foundation and us to also do more.

We have an opportunity with EAFC Mobile, and I think there’s more and more interest internationally as the industry matures to bring games into different markets.

I’d love to bring Madden here. I would love the day that the French fans are demanding that Madden or College Football show up on the global stage. So yeah, I mean, as I mentioned before, it’s really about going where the fans are and trying to explore new markets.

It’s easy with a global title, but I think you see the NFL bringing NFL games to Europe, and they’re doing that more and more. So as we start to lean on the way that they’re building fandom, we’ll follow.