Electronic Arts has confirmed that following the release of FIFA 23, it will release future football games under the EA Sports FC banner.
The move doesn’t come as a huge surprise, but it’s a major change for one of the biggest brands in video games.
The publishing giant says the change to the EA Sports FC name will enable it to “deliver the world’s biggest interactive sports experience for its growing community in collaboration with 300+ partners across the world of football.”
Reports suggest that football’s governing body was looking to double the price of its annual $150 million licensing partnership. Given that EA already has a wealth of partners covering various leagues, stadiums and teams, it appears confident it can drop the FIFA brand without a significant impact on sales. For players, the rebrand should mean little more than the change in the name on the box.
Speaking about the change, Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson says:
“Our vision for EA SPORTS FC is to create the largest and most impactful football club in the world, at the epicenter of football fandom. For nearly 30 years, we’ve been building the world’s biggest football community – with hundreds of millions of players, thousands of athlete partners, and hundreds of leagues, federations, and teams. EA SPORTS FC will be the club for every one of them, and for football fans everywhere.”
EA also says that the upcoming FIFA 23 – due later this year – will include more game modes, features, leagues, and players, and basically be the best football game ever.
In response, FIFA says it’s in negotiations with potential partners to develop new ‘non-simulation’ and ‘simulation’ football games.
We bet Konami would kick the door down to rebadge and relaunch eFootball right now. Expect a call, Gianni Infantino.
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