AD

FIFA Is Rebranding to EA Sports FC: What Changes in the Game?

The rebranding of the FIFA soccer franchise is one of the biggest videogame stories in recent times.

How did this happen and what can we expect from these games in the future?

The Story So Far

The Guinness Book of Records notes the FIFA games from EA Sports as the most successful sports video game franchise in history. Since it began with the release of FIFA International Soccer in 1993, this series has been massively popular and there have been 30 versions released.

However, it was announced in May 2022 that the partnership between EA Sports and FIFA would come to an end after 30 years and more than 300 million copies sold, generating more than $20 billion in sales. The tie-in will officially come to an end in July 2023, and FIFA has already stated that they plan to work with a different developer to create a new game featuring the FIFA name.

To date, the only reason given for ending this long-running and hugely profitable partnership is that they were unable to come to an agreement. The Women’s World Cup in 2023 will be the final FIFA event under the terms of this agreement, so what happens after that?

Is It an Amicable Split?

There has clearly been tension between both sides as they attempted to thrash out the terms of a new deal. Indeed, it was reported over the last few months that the negotiating teams had been struggling to reach any sort of agreement.

One of the few details released to the public so far was that FIFA wanted to double the licensing fee that it charges for the use of their name. This was already sitting at $150 million per year, so they were looking for $300 million annually to carry on with the FIFA games.

Some sources also suggest the FIFA wanted EA to create a more immersive digital world, perhaps taking the game into a metaverse type of setting like those we’ve seen in Roblox, The Sandbox, and Fortnite. It’s reported that the EA leadership didn’t want to move in this direction.

A statement from EA spokesperson Eric Escaravage called it “an amicable decision” and said that they thank FIFA for the many years that they worked together on these titles. However, the statement went on to say that they have a vision for the future of interactive soccer, with the fans coming first.

The Future of the Series

EA has confirmed that they will carry on producing a soccer game, which will now be called EA Sports FC but many of the elements will remain the same as under the FIFA banner, as the company has licensing agreements with more than 300 teams and organisations across the planet.

It is likely that you continue see the game in the esports section of sports betting websites as well, as competitive games will continue, just under a different name.

However, official FIFA events like the World Cup will now be missing from future versions of the game. An official statement from the developer pointed out that the change of name to EA Sports FC “will not impact any current EA Sports global football game”.

In fact, they confirmed that the “greatest, most expansive EA Sports FIFA ever” will be released in the fall of 2022. This will be titled FIFA 23 and will tie in with the World Cup in Qatar, which runs from November 21 to December 18 this year.

Going forward players can expect to find the same teams and player from all of the leading leagues. It won’t be a case of going back to the very first versions of the FIFA game, when player names were missing or mis-spelt.

EA pointed out that the 150 million players will carry on enjoying “everything you love about our games”. This means that the new franchise will still include features like Ultimate Team, Career Mode, VOLTA Football, and Pro Clubs.

We can also expect to see teams from the English Premier League, La Liga in Spain, and the German Bundesliga. All of the players and stadiums in these leagues are licensed by EA so they aren’t affected by the split.

Will EA Sports FC Be Just as Popular?

Given that the main features will all remain, it’s hard to see how this change is going to greatly affect the franchise. However, if FIFA carries through on its promise to launch a rival series using the FIFA name then EA could come up against a serious challenge.

The long-running FIFA series of games has beaten off rivals such as Sensible Soccer and Tehkan World Cup during its decades as the top sports game on the market. However, any FIFA-backed title from a rival developer is likely to be its most serious rival to date.

This could end up being good news for fans, who get to choose between the new EA Sports FC games and a new series using the FIFA name.