EA Sports is known for its high-quality sports video games. Some most notable releases from the company include FIFA, Madden NFL, NHL, PGA, and F1 games. Most of these video games involve licenses from the major real-life hosts of each form of sport, and FIFA was no exception. The company had signed a 10-year deal with FIFA to use its name and players in the official video game. But, it seems like things are going to change as EA is reportedly thinking about discontinuing one of its most popular IPs.
EA had to pay FIFA a lump sum back in 2013 when it had to renew its license, and it will, probably, have to pay even more to continue its partnership with the football corporation. Following these high rates, EA is deciding to discontinue making FIFA games. The upcoming series will launch in 2023. The new game will be called “EA Sports FC”. The last EA Sports-made game to hit the shelves will be FIFA 23, which will be launched later in 2022.
EA started making FIFA games in 1993 and has been in charge of the official football franchise ever since. The Californian video game developer has renewed its partnership every 10 years, and thus, 2023 would have been the third time it had to buy a partnership from FIFA. These soccer games are undoubtedly changing, as people no longer want to play them. But, demand for content creation opportunities and the ability to watch real-time matches from within video games are rising. Games like Fortnite are already innovating in this domain, and EA does not want to be left behind.
EA Sports’ vice-president, David Jackson, also expressed his concern about building a “brand for the future”. According to him, with the changing world of gaming and football, it would be best for EA Sports to move from the shadow of FIFA. They would use this opportunity to expand the game and make it much more than just a soccer title for PC, mobile, and consoles.
Coming to whether real-world premiere leagues and clubs would be continued or would introduce fictional clubs like Pro Evolution Soccer, EA Sports voted for the former. The company announced that it already signed agreements with 19,000 football athletes, 700 football teams,100 stadiums from across the world, and over 30 football leagues for the upcoming games.
Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, and UEFA are among these. EA also will no longer release games about the FIFA World Cup, like the FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 released surrounding the 1998 World Cup. In response to EA’s step FIFA announced that it will release its rival games. With their tradition in mind, they believe in the originality of an official football video game.