EA Is Ending One Of The Most Profitable Partnerships In Video Game History
EA is set to make a historic change, as the gaming company is set end a 30 year relationship with one of its most profitable partnerships.
EA is set to make a historic change to the next FIFA game. Though FIFA 2023 is set to release later this year, the name of the famed football franchise game will change moving forward. This will end the nearly 30-year relationship between FIFA and EA, which has led to the most profitable partnership in video game history. The franchise partnership has made over $20 billion in the last three decades, but that is all coming to an end starting in 2023. EA will affectively change the name to EA Sports FC. You can see the announcement below:
This is a massive change, as FIFA will now lose out on a ton of money after losing out on its licensing with EA. The rift began with EA reportedly wanting to change the name of the game for some time. The final push came when FIFA decided that its name was worth far more than the money it had been receiving as part of this partnership deal. The governing soccer collective wanted to charge EA $1 billion dollars every four years to license its name to the video game. This has ultimately led to the split. That, and the fact that there is a myriad of issues that stem from the fact that FIFA is surrounded by corruption. According to the CEO of EA, Andrew Wilson, the only value that EA gets from FIFA is “the four letters on the front of the box.” He added, “I would argue – and this may be a little biased – that the FIFA brand has more meaning as a video game than it does a governing body of soccer.”
Those are some bold words but based on how much money FIFA has made from the video game series, it is hard to argue that fact. Losing its partnership with EA is going to severely dampen the football collective’s pockets. So much so, that they may be wanting to find a way to get back into the fray. However, it sounds like the damage has been done and EA is moving on with its franchise.
EA Sports FC is set to reveal more information about the new direction of the game in July of 2023. EA has promised that there will be more features, game modes, World Cup content, clubs, leagues, competitions, and much more. Though the FIFA name is being dropped from the game, EA will still retain its licensing with over 19,000 players, 700 teams, 100 stadiums, and 30 leagues. EA has promised that most of the content will remain unchanged apart from the name. This historic change has been praised by many real-life professional clubs and leagues in the football realm including the English Premier League, LaLiga, and Bundesliga.
The original EA and FIFA collaboration began in 1993 when FIFA International Soccer came out. There have been 37 titles released since then, with the 38th coming out this year. FIFA 2023 will release in the fall and end this long-tenured partnership. It sounds as if things will not skip a beat, and EA will continue to focus on plenty of content on one of its most storied franchises. FIFA might want to do something to possibly patch up this partnership, though it may be all too late for the soccer collective.
