FIFA and Electronic Arts have been the industry standard in global interactive football games for almost 30 years. Despite the FIFA 22 partnership, change is coming. EA and FIFA are officially parting ways.
It’s always difficult when an era ends. Particularly one as long and exciting as the partnership between FIFA and Electronic Arts. The FIFA-EA partnership ends this year, with the new FIFA 22 as the partnership’s swan song. But what comes next for the interactive esports and gaming giant? Is this the end of the interactive football marque? As it turns out, no. This is, instead, the beginning of a new and hopefully more exciting future.
There are numerous reasons behind EA deciding to let its partnership with FIFA end. One of the most talked-about reasons is that EA was less than happy that FIFA had decided to license its name out to other gaming corporations. Fortnite and Roblox are particularly mentioned as the prime offenders. But we’ve already reported on the hostilities between the two companies. Instead, we’re going to focus on the positive.
EA has officially announced the creation of EA Sports FC. This will be the name under which future world interactive football games will be marketed from 2023 onward. EA took to its website in a heartfelt post
recently, thanking its more than 150 million fans worldwide for almost 30 years of unending support.
The company specifically makes mention of its 300+ license partners within the football community, presumably to instill confidence within players that this changeover won’t fundamentally change the things we love about the games going forward. In fact, EA specifically points out that fam favorites like Career Mode, Ultimate Team, VOLTA Football, and Pro Clubs will all still be among the company’s impressive retinue of interactive football-based esports experiences. The company is also set to retain its portfolio of over 30 leagues, 100 stadiums, and 700 teams, meaning players will still have a wide array of choices in the next era of football gaming.
EA even ends off the post with quotes from their license partners, every one of which is encouraging and projects palpable excitement concerning the future of football gaming. Among the many license partners are LaLiga, Bundesliga, UEFA, Premier League, and Nike.
This new interactive esports platform could very well become the biggest and best of its kind in the world, with legendary backing, the same incredible development teams, and a more fan-focused and less brand-aware approach to esports.
For those of you interested in the drama, we’ve also got an article exploring the reasons why EA decided to rebrand FIFA 23.
