EA is prepared to abandon the FIFA name on its soccer video games if necessary. Andrew Wilson, CEO of Electronic Arts, has recognized in an internal meeting held in November (via VGC) that the license is becoming “an impediment“. The comment, although transferred only to members of its executive, brings even closer the possibility of seeing a football EA Sports without the budding name.
So much so that, during that meeting, the manager downplayed the branding of the product and referred to the name that is now the protagonist with the following statement: “There are four letters in a box.” The North American publisher believes that limiting itself to FIFA is “an impediment” to the growth of the saga, currently focused on traditional eleven against eleven, and there are voices that hope to approach “wider digital ecosystems”, according to anonymous sources consulted by VGC.
How much does the name “FIFA” really cost for EA? How the negotiations are progressing
The fall of the FIFA name in EA Sports soccer video games is a possibility that has been around for months. Last October, EA acknowledged exploring a name change to the video games we now know as FIFA; they then registered EA Sports FC.
The main problem with the license is its price, its dizzying cost. FIFA asks EA for more than 1,000 million dollars for the license over four years. Currently, the amount moves around 600 million dollars. In this way, we would be talking about 250 million dollars a year or 2,500 million dollars to retain the name for the next decade.
EA is exploring other options, even if that means FIFA sharing the license with other publishers or eSports, thereby breaking the exclusivity with Electronic Arts. In any case, EA has secured its agreement with FIFAPro, the footballers’ association.
Take-Two is interested in a soccer video game: what is known for now
Take-Two is one of the largest publishers on the planet and they know the potential of the beautiful game in Europe; especially in a year like 2022, with the World Cup in Qatar at the end of the course. If we go back to the month of November, Strauss Zelnick, CEO of the North American giant, recognized his interest in the possibility of developing a soccer video game, although he did not want to respond to the possible FIFA rights battle. Q>
To this we add the attempt to buy Codemasters, driving experts, from Take-Two —finally consummated by Electronic Arts, precisely—, for which they were “disappointed”. Finally, the recent report that indicates a possible arcade soccer game with the LEGO license developed by Sumo Digital. Will it have the FIFA license? It is real? We will know soon.
Font | VGC