A major change is coming to EA Sports’ long series of FIFA games, following a public dispute between the two longtime partners that has lasted at least a year and resulted in FIFA threatening to take exclusive name rights away from EA. This happened only about a week after announcing that a new crossplay feature was being tested in Fifa 22.
According to Cam Weber, EA Sports’ EVP and Group GM, the publisher will rebrand future iterations of its football games as EA Sports FC, a term that surfaced as speculation about FIFA 22 being the final FIFA game grew.
EA Sports FC will include EA’s “unique license portfolio of over 19,000+ players, 700+ teams, 100+ venues, and 30 leagues,” according to Weber.
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The most important lesson from Weber’s remarks about the name change is that it isn’t simply a renaming of the series. The switch from FIFA to EA Sports FC was regarded by Weber as a “symbol of change.” Although Weber did not specify how EA Sports FC will differ from past editions, we assume it has something to do with prior claims that EA’s Andrew Wilson claimed the FIFA label was holding the games back.
Despite the name change, FIFA 22 isn’t the final installment. FIFA 23, which Weber claims is the “most expansive game ever with our current naming rights partner, FIFA,” is still planned for release later this year.
Fans should not expect to hear anything more about FIFA 23 any time soon. After EA Play was canceled this year, and E3 was no longer an option, the customary timeframe for EA’s exhibition was thrown out the window. Don’t be surprised if EA announces FIFA 23 around the holidays.
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The FIFA series from Electronic Arts is a gaming powerhouse. FIFA 22, the most recent version, has millions of players all around the world. In addition to casual gamers and devoted enthusiasts, FIFA also has a flourishing esports community. Following the name change, it will be interesting to see how EA Sports FC fare.
Let us not forget that the aforementioned football game, eFootball 2022 which was earlier launched under the Pro Evolution Soccer banner, was a complete failure. Even if EA retains all of the rights and licenses traditionally associated with the FIFA brand, it will still face a difficult road ahead. However, if FIFA, the governing body, wants to sell the rights to a different developer to produce a new video game series, it will be in a similar, if not worse, situation.
