A rift has opened up between FIFA and its video game partner, Electronic Arts. The world’s governing soccer body has decided to break off its exclusive agreement with the sports video game juggernaut.
“Gaming and eSports are the fastest-growing media verticals on the planet, with new and diverse types of games launching continuously,” FIFA said in a statement. “It is therefore of crucial importance for FIFA and its stakeholders to maximize all future opportunities for football and gaming fans.”
More notably, the organization was asking for $250 million per year from EA over the next four years, twice what the company is currently paying them.
The most recent installment of EA’s soccer franchise, FIFA 22, launched at the beginning of this month and has seen the same success as previous entries. But EA and FIFA have been negotiating for two years now with little success, and it looks like the exclusive relationship will end after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
EA will continue to make its own soccer games, as it has the licenses necessary and has trademarked the phrase “EA Sports F.C.,” which may be used as the name for future installments.
Does any of this mean any changes are on the horizon for regular FIFA franchise customers? Probably not. EA will likely remain the king of global soccer video games, as FIFA wants to end the exclusivity to increase revenue streams in other areas. EA likely won’t make many changes to its lucrative soccer franchise — after all, it doesn’t even make changes to its Madden football franchise even in the face of overwhelmingly negative reviews.
According to the New York Times, the break-up would have far more of an effect on FIFA, as the organization would lose its nine-figure licensing payments while looking to reach more deals outside of soccer-specific video games.
Where FIFA goes from here will certainly lead to some changes. The organization is looking at several ambitious ideas, including holding the World Cup every two years as opposed to every four. But EA will likely see more of the same under a different name. Given how unpopular the company is, that seems like less than welcome news.
