The world of football video games is set to receive its biggest shake-up in years with EA Sports FC replacing FIFA.
EA and FIFA have been making games together since FIFA International Soccer in 1993. Since the early 2010s, it has been the dominant force in football video games, overtaking Konmai’s Pro Evolution Soccer and only rivalled by Football Manager, which is more focused on the managerial side of the sport.
However, negotiations between the game developer and football’s governing body broke down last year, with EA announcing its intention to launch its own game starting from this year. Ahead of this major change, here is everything you need to know about the future of football video games.
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Why did EA and FIFA part ways?
According to the New York Times, FIFA was seeking at least double the $150 million it got annually from EA Sports under the previous agreement between the two parties. It was reported that the governing body wanted to attach its name to other video games too. These demands led to EA deciding to make their own video game without the Fifa name.
Will EA Sports FC keep its licences?
EA will retain most of its previous licensing agreements. Competitions such as the Premier League, Champions League, the Barclays Women's Super League and the major European men’s leagues will still be available to play in, as EA negotiated these agreements themselves.
Retaining the rights for these leagues is a large reason why EA would have felt confident to go solo. However, playing in the World Cup could be affected, as the rights for that competition are held by FIFA.
Will there be any features?
Players will be hoping that new features will be added given these changes. The savings EA makes from not having an agreement with FIFA could free up funds to invest in the new game.
But aside from a new name and logo, little is known about significant differences. Current game modes will definitely remain, such as Ultimate Team and Career Mode. There are some obvious changes EA could introduce, such as VAR cutscenes to make the games more realistic and an online version of Career Mode.
Is there a beta?
Subscribers to EA Play will probably be able to take part in playtesting and a beta of the game later this month. It’s also likely that they will be able to purchase the final copy of the game a few days before its official release date.
Will there still be a FIFA game?
FIFA have announced its intention to compete with EA and release its own football video game, but it may not be seen for some time. Head of FIFA Gianni Infantino said in March there would be news about this title imminently.
He said: "The new FIFA game - the FIFA 25, 26, 27 and so on - will always be the best egame for any girl or boy, we will have news on this very soon." This was a subtle announcement that there would be no FIFA game this year.
However, history shows it may be a big challenge for FIFA to compete with EA. In 2003, Eidos, the publisher of Championship Manager, broke up with Sports Interactive, the company that made the game.
Sports Interactive renamed its game Football Manager, which has been hugely successful since its first release in 2005. By contrast, Eidos’ Championship Manager 5 was plagued with bugs and a game under that title has not been released since 2018.
What is the release date of EA Sports FC?
The exact release date for football manager is currently unknown. When the game was under FIFA branding, it was always released on the last Friday of September. It is likely that there will be a similar release date this time around.
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