Electronic Arts (EA Sports) have announced that it will no longer produce FIFA-branded football games.
It is one of the most profitable gaming brands ever. But the cost of the license was one of the major factors in the decision to end the collaboration.
EA will continue to develop football video games, but they will rebrand it as EA Sports FC from 2023.
FIFA plans to release its own rival games. “The FIFA name is the only global, original title,” said FIFA.
EA Sports created the first FIFA game in 1993 and has run the franchise ever since.
Future brand
David Jackson, vice president of EA Sports, said that the studio believes it is time to take a different approach in order to create a “brand for the future”.
The specifics of those experiences are currently unknown. But it’s reasonable to think that EA would like to move towards real-life matches, live in-game events, and have access to a wider choice of branded in-game merchandise.
Jackson says: “The world of football and the world of entertainment is changing, and they clash within our product.
“In the future, our players will demand of us the ability to be more expansive in that offering. At the moment, we engage in play as a primary form of interactive experience. Soon, watching and creating content are going to be equally as important for fans.
“Under the licensing conventions that we had agreed with FIFA 10 years ago, there were some restrictions that weren’t going to allow us to be able to build those experiences for players.”
The success of the FIFA franchise can be attributed in part to comprehensive license arrangements that allowed for accurate representations of team kits, players’ faces, and stadiums on screen.
For years, players were able to play as Premier League teams such as Liverpool. However, competing games such as Pro Evolution Soccer included fictional sides such as Merseyside Red.
EA Sports FC release
EA claims to have signed up 19,000 athletes, 700 teams, 100 stadiums, and over 30 leagues for future games. Thereby, indicating that they will continue to offer real-world experiences.
The Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, and UEFA are among them.
However, this implies that games like FIFA: Road to World Cup 98, which were launched to coincide with the World Cup, will no longer be created by EA.
There will be one final FIFA game, with this year’s edition – FIFA 23 – going on sale in the autumn.
EA Sports FC will release in late 2023,