THE FIFA series of video games is now called EA Sports FC as the developer immediately bounced back from its public divorce with the football federation.
FIFA has promised that it will enter a new partnership with another developer, but this is yet to happen.
In March 2023, FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced that there would be news on a new FIFA series starting with FIFA 25 “very soon”, but with no announcement yet, it is unlikely to start with this entry, if it appears at all.
People immediately began speculating that FIFA would be working with Take-Two on a new FIFA-branded series, as the company is EA Sports’ main competitor in the sports video games space.
Rumours were heightened when Lego 2K Goal appeared on online storefront before being removed.
People believe it was recalled for a FIFA rebranding, but Take-Two has denied working with the federation in a recent earnings call.
Take-Two’s CEO, Strauss Zelnick, was asked about the rumours during the call and said that a partnership with FIFA wasn’t currently on the cards.
The company already has a successful football series, Top Eleven, on mobile, but Strauss claims: “it’s incredibly difficult to build a great sim experience for console.”
While he doesn’t seem keen to work with FIFA, he didn’t rule the partnership out, saying: “If you do it right, your users are very loyal and very embedded.”
However, he explained to investors the difficulties of working on a FIFA-branded game, comparing the licence unfavourably to the company’s other sports titles.
Strauss said: “It’s not as simple as negotiating with the NFL, NBA, or MLB where, at most, you have to negotiate with a league and a players association.”
He admits that when creating a football game, the FIFA licence “doesn’t come with players, teams, or leagues”, as multiple licences for each of these need to be obtained.
EA’s CEO Andrew Wilson previously remarked that the FIFA licence is just “four letters on a box,” pointing out how little this means in the digital age.
EA Sports and FIFA’s divorce is rumoured to have been caused by the federation asking for $1billion (£800million) in exchange for its name.
While the series has changed name, EA Sports FC remains hugely successful as gamers have continued to play the popular EA Sports series.
If you want to read more about football games, check out our EA Sports FC 25 preview.
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