Last December a class action lawsuit was filed against Electronic Arts accusing the publisher of violating federal securities laws by making "materially false and misleading statements" about Battlefield 4's quality.
The lawsuit claimed that EA's top management knew ahead of launch that Battlefield 4 was riddled with bugs which would prevent it from reaching its sales target, but lied to increase stock prices while they sold their shares for millions of dollars.
Now, the District Judge ruled in favor of EA after finding that the disputed actions are nothing more than "corporate optimism."
In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said that "Defendant [CFO Blake] Jorgensen's Oct. 29, 2013 statement comparing BF4 to a World Series ace pitcher is puffery," similar to the statements made ahead of any big release.
"Defendant Wilson's Oct. 29, 2013 statement explaining that EA 'worked more closely with Microsoft and Sony throughout the entire process' resulting in a 'launch slate of games that are the best transition games that I've ever seen come out of this company' is an inactionable opinion," she added, "as well as a vague statement of corporate optimism."
Ultimately, the judge found that the complaint failed to articulate how or why any of EA's statements about Battlefield 4 were false.