EA SPORTS FOOTBALL CLUB. The divorce is pronounced between Electronic Arts and FIFA. In 2023, the best-selling football game of the moment will no longer be called FIFA but EA Sports Club. Here’s what it will change for players.
[Mis à jour le 11 mai 2022 à 12h04] For several months, negotiations have been going well between FIFA and Electronic Arts, publisher and developer of football video games that have been licensed by FIFA since 1993. On the one hand, the international amateur football federation was seeking to increase the prices paid by the publisher but also to make him accept that the FIFA license appears in other video games (Fortnite and Roblox do). Unthinkable for Electronic Arts, so much so that the publisher began to announce its intentions to create its own football game license without the FIFA license last summer. The news has now been officially confirmed by EA and FIFA on Tuesday, May 10, 2022: from 2023, football games developed by Electronic Arts will be called EA Sports Football Club or EA Sports FC. At the same time, FIFA announced its firm intention to license another publisher to create the new iteration of the official FIFA games.
FIFA 23 will be the last FIFA game from Electronic Arts
In any case, the next football game from Electronic Arts, expected for the month of September 2022, will be called FIFA 23 with regard to the contract which still unites the publisher to FIFA. However, it will be the last officially FIFA game from Electronic Arts before the publisher launches its own EA Sports Football Club license in 2023. At this time, FIFA has not yet announced official partners for future official games. Gianni Infantino, CEO of FIFA, has announced that “the only authentic and real game that bears the name FIFA will be the best available for players and football fans”. However, he still has to find someone willing to develop it for him.
What changes for players?
The most significant change will therefore be the change of title of EA games which, from 2023, will be sold under the name EA Sports FC. In fact, this title change should have little impact on the gaming experience, which has been well mastered for years by historical developers at EA. On the other hand, the next football productions of Electronic Arts will have to make a cross on the contents dedicated to the World Cup, licensed directly by FIFA.
When it comes to club-related content, Electronic Arts is extremely reassuring: “Everything you love about our games will be in EA Sports FC – the same experiences, game modes, leagues, tournaments, clubs and athletes will be there. Ultimate Team, Career, Pro Clubs, VOLTA will all be there Our unique licensing portfolio, which we have continued to invest in for decades, with over 19,000 players, 700 teams, 100 stadiums and 30 leagues, will only be available in EA Sports FC. This includes exclusive partnerships with the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and MLS – and more.” No change to be expected on the vast majority of the usual content of FIFA games which will therefore be the basis of work for future EA productions, which however announces its desire to “innovate, create and evolve” after having freed itself from visibly difficult partner in business.
A partnership with Nike already announced
The Electronic Arts press release announcing the start of construction of EA Sports Football Club also mentions a new partnership signed with the equipment supplier Nike. The manufacturer has expressed its excitement at the idea of working with EA Sports. “We are excited to continue and expand our long-standing partnership with EA Sports as we serve athletes who are at the intersection of sports, gaming and culture.” The strengthening of this partnership between Nike and Electronic Arts is not at all a coincidence. Andrew Wilson, CEO of EA, explained in February 2022 to VGC that FIFA players “are asking for more commercial and cultural brands that speak to them, that are relevant in their markets, so that they are more deeply integrated into the game. “Brands like Nike. Today, because of the relationship between FIFA and Adidas, we can’t do that.” So that’s also something that should change with EA Sports FC: more space for brands within the football game.