EA has now parted ways with FIFA, the world governing body of football. This means EA no longer has the right to publish games under the name of FIFA. However, it will not affect anything other than the title itself. The publisher has announced that they will not stop releasing their premium football franchise anytime soon.
The announcement was made official in a blog post by Cam Weber, the executive president and general manager of EA Sports. It also made public the brand new name for the next generation of FIFA games, EA Sports FC. That’s quite a change, and speaking about the leap, Weber said:
“After nearly 30 years of creating genre-defining interactive football experiences, we will soon begin an exciting new era. Next year, EA SPORTS FC will become the future of football from EA SPORTS.
This new independent platform will bring fresh opportunity – to innovate, create and evolve. This is much more than just a change of symbol – as EA SPORTS, we’re committed to ensuring EA SPORTS FC is a symbol of change. We’re dedicated to meaningfully reinvesting in the sport, and we’re excited to work with a large and increasing number of partners to expand to new authentic experiences that bring joy, inclusivity and immersion to a global community of fans.”
The reason for the change is due to a disagreement between EA and FIFA. As first reported by the NY Times, FIFA sought to revise the current agreement financially. Had EA agreed to the deal, they’d be paying FIFA $1 billion every four years. Considering the amount was just for the “title” of the game, and didn’t affect the in-game licensing, the publisher decided to end the decade-long deal.
Konami also changed their yearly PES games to eFootball, but the change was fundamental and not just a name. That didn’t end well for Konami, but the future for EA will likely remain the same as ever. More details on EA Sports FC will be revealed in Summer 2023. Until then, EA will continue with FIFA games. That means there’s only a year left before EA says goodbye, with this year’s FIFA to maintain the tag and will be called FIFA 23.
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