FIFA would only be “four letters on the box” according to EA – FIFA 22

For many years, EA and FIFA have been partners, which notably allows the publishing and development company to use the mark of the International Federation of Football Association for its license, which has become the reference of the genre. However, we learned, at the end of 2021, that the relationship between the two was not looking good, and that EA was considering changing its name and therefore no longer renewing its partnership with FIFA.

If money (FIFA wants to raise the price of using the brand) is one of the reasons, it wouldn’t be the only one, according to EA CEO Andrew Wilson, who recently spoke out on the subject. with company employees (via VGC). According to him, currently the FIFA brand makes more sense as a video game rather than a football instance. Especially since in recent years, FIFA would have prevented Electronic Arts from developing its football gamewith more original modes, abandoning 11 against 11, or partnerships with brands.

Our players tell us they want more game modes, different things beyond 11v11, and different types of gameplay. I would tell you it’s been a fight to get FIFA to recognize the types of things we want to create, because they say our license only covers certain categories

According to EA, players would also like developers to open up ” to a broader digital ecosystem (it’s likely that EA wants to get into NFTs). Finally, Andrew Wilson believes that at present, the partnership with FIFA is only “ the four letters on the front of the box, in a world where most people don’t even see the box anymore because they buy the game digitally outside of the years when a World Cup is organised.

We will know a little more in a few months, but a domain name was discovered at the end of the year, EA Sports FC, which could, perhaps, be the future of the license.