EA Sports' football video game franchise could be set for a name change after FIFA 23, if their license agreement is not renewed with FIFA.
According to previous reporting from the New York Times, EA Sports and FIFA's current 10-year deal could be set to end following this year's World Cup in Qatar (December 2022), meaning a potential franchise name change could come after the launch of FIFA 23 (Expected September 2022), should this licence not be renewed. Yesterday, Mirror Football reported that EA Sports are still planning to release FIFA 23 this year, but that the huge gaming franchise could be set to end soon, following comments made by EA's CEO Andrew Wilson to employees.
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In comments provided anonymously to VGC, Wilson told employees in an internal meeting in November that "the FIFA brand has more meaning as a video game than it does a governing body of soccer" and that "what we get from FIFA in a non-World Cup year is the four letters on the front of the box".
According to the same article, Wilson also claimed that the FIFA licence has been an '"impediment" to EA Sports in regards to the growth of their franchise and that "FIFA is just the name on the box, but they’ve precluded our ability to be able to branch into the areas that players want.”
EA are still yet to officially announce a possible title change for its football games if they do lose the rights to the FIFA name, but as previously reported by the New York Times, EA trademarked "EA Sports FC" in the UK and EU back in October 2021, suggesting a potential new game for their popular franchise, should EA decide not to renew their deal with FIFA.
This phrase has been used previously by EA when the EA SPORTS Football Catalogue (EASFC) was featured in-game until it was removed in FIFA 21. The EA SPORTS Football Catalogue allowed players to earn Football Club Credits (FFC) through simply playing the game, similar to an in-game currency such as Fortnite's V-Bucks.
These credits could then be used to redeem cosmetic items like football boots, balls and kits to use in Pro Clubs, or beneficial bonuses in Ultimate Team and Career Mode such as coin boosts or financial takeovers. EA Sports could head down a similar route to Konami and rename their football game franchise something similar to eFootball, formerly known as Pro Evolution Soccer. Other possible names could be EAS Football or EA Club Football, but nothing has been confirmed as of yet.
EA Sports' FIFA franchise began back in December 1993 with the launch of FIFA International Soccer, but the company revealed way back in October 2021 that they were exploring a potential name change to their global football games.
"We’re exploring the idea of renaming our global EA SPORTS football games," Said the EA Statement in October 2021.
"We’re reviewing our naming rights agreement with FIFA, which is separate from all our other official partnerships and licenses across the football world.
"Our priority is to ensure we have every opportunity to continue delivering the world’s greatest interactive football experiences."
FIFA responded with a strong statement of their own following EA Sports' s tatement, suggesting that they could make their own football video game instead.
"FIFA will adopt a new commercial positioning in gaming and eSports to ensure that it is best placed to make decisions that benefit all football stakeholders," said FIFA in a statement on their website.
"FIFA is bullish and excited about the future in gaming and eSports for football, and it is clear that this needs to be a space that is occupied by more than one party controlling all rights.
"Technology and mobile companies are now actively competing to be associated with FIFA, its platforms, and global tournaments.
"Consequently, FIFA is engaging with various industry players, including developers, investors and analysts, to build out a long-term view of the gaming, eSports and interactive entertainment sector."
Could the failure to renew the license agreement with FIFA lead to a poorer quality game? Could it lead to a potential loss of income for EA Sports? And, would you still buy EA Sports' football game if it wasn't called FIFA? Let us know in the comments.
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