“EA Sports Football Club, EA Sports FC, that’s the name of the game. I saw the trademarks and initially thought it might just be a feature like an online mode, but I inquired at this topic and that’s it, that’s the name“, confided Jeff Grubb in his podcast. According to him, this big change of identity could take place as early as this year, even if the contract between EA and FIFA is not supposed to expire until the end of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which would allow EA to use the four magic letters one last time for FIFA 23.
Four emblematic letters but which are expensive for ultimately not much, deplores in substance the management of Electronic Arts. In terms of licensing, the alliance with FIFA only covers the official use of the World Cup, all other licenses (players, clubs, stadiums, championships) being the fruit of hundreds of other partnerships which do not will not vanish at the same time as relations with FIFA.
Electronic Arts’ bet may seem risky at first glance, especially since other publishers will be free to use the FIFA name for their football games if they put the price on it, but the publisher is convinced (probably at reason) that his fame is not based on the name on the cover and that his experience in football games will be immediately recognized by the public even after this future name change. A name change that could confuse part of the public, which is used to “have a little FIFA” since the 90s, but probably temporarily and ultimately negligible.
According to information previously reported by The New York Times, FIFA tried to negotiate a price increase for the use of his name, raising the bill to $2.5 billion for a new 10-year contract. Behind the scenes, the divorce seems already pronounced, as CEO Andrew Wilson explained to staff that the FIFA license was becoming “a barrier” to EA’s football ambitions. According to Wilson, the football body prevents EA from developing the content of its game as it sees fit, to the point of qualifying FIFA’s contribution as “a simple name on a box.“