What’s next for the FIFA license?
When FIFA 23 was released in September, EA Sports announced that this edition would be the last to bear the name of this absolutely historic franchise. Then almost 30 years of cooperation with the international football federation – FIFA – EA Sports will however continue to make the most popular sports game on the planet and perhaps one of the most iconic, all categories combined.
Why this change of situation was announced last May and initiated by FIFA and above all, what’s next for EA Sports’ flagship game? Return to the end of an era and undoubtedly the beginning of a new one.
A historical game
Having sold hundreds of millions of editions since the franchise’s inception in 1993, FIFA is a fascinating commercial success story that spans decades. The real turning point, however, occurred in 1997 with the release of FIFA 98a game that has remained in the records and until today, dusted by the best FIFA player.
Latest FIFA license
Over the past decades, FIFA has gone through major changes and recently, the game has also become one of the most popular in the eSports era on a global scale. It also explains the major investments that most European football clubs have made in this video game area in recent years.
However, it seems that EA Sports is no longer fully satisfied with the guarantees left free by the FIFA brand license. In a financial agreement announced around billion dollars for a cycle of four years, price, according to the publisher, is not the only explanation for parting with this historic franchise. For fans of the game, this may be useful.
Caption: Habits must remain the same
A new name for new features
Today, EA Sports’ FIFA game is often criticized for its lack of modernism and, above all, its delay compared to other franchises that have become flagships such as NBA 2K for basketball or Madden for American football. Following the explanations of the publishing house, we understand above all that this lack is due to FIFA and not to the lack of ambition of the developers.
Wanted to develop new functions for several years and especially since the contract was signed in 2012, American society is often held back by powerful world federations.
The new EA Sports FC should therefore be worth a look at almost unimaginable things about previous franchises. Is development different from arcade mode? More simulations? Incorporating augmented or virtual reality? EA Sports will take its hands off and the current development has probably taken a lot of the monotony out of the developers based in California and also within the video game company’s other studios.
The creation of internal content in the game will definitely be part of the new things according to the words of David Jackson, the vice-president of EAS.
If it is absolutely necessary to wait for the release of this opus to form a clear opinion, EA Sports seems confident in its strengths and if successful, this could be a huge loss for FIFA.
Partnerships are maintained
Therefore, EA Sports will no longer have the opportunity to take advantage of the FIFA license, but do not panic for those looking for football games with official licenses as EA Sports has already announced many partnerships in May.
By partnering with more than 20,000 professional football players, but above all with 700 teams and already 30 championships, including the Premier League, EA Sports will make sure to attract new purists. Moreover, the announced contract with UEFA will undoubtedly be secured the presence of official European competitions within the opus. It’s almost a snub to FIFA, but EA Sports FC is making sure to continue a great story that will celebrate its 30th anniversary in the coming weeks…
