The soccer-sim juggernaut FIFA is to be renamed after EA Sports and the governing body failed to reach an agreement over the license. Since 1993, EA’s annual offering has borne the name of the organisation but from 2024, the series will be known as EA Sports FC.
It’s understood that FIFA had asked for around $1bn per annum to continue the partnership which EA refused to pay.
The two went back to the negotiating table but talks have once again broken down. EA Sports took to Twitter to confirm the new name signaling the official end of the partnership.
FIFA 23 will be the last in the series to bear the name that came about in somewhat funny circumstances back in the early 1990s.
A Bargain
EA planned a soccer sim for Sega Mega Drive/Genesis in the same vein as their NHL and Madden NFL series. The American company assumed that the governing body of association football, FIFA, held the right to player and teams names and logos etc. just like the US sports they were familiar with.
FIFA offered the rights for what is believed to be a four-figure sum, much to the surprise of EA. They accepted not realising what exactly they had paid for. 1993’s FIFA International Soccer was a hit despite lacking any club sides or any real players.
EA then began the laborious and expensive task of gathering team, player and competition licenses.
This task was made more complicated by the variation in how each national league system handles their rights. But within a few years, the series had sewn up the major licenses and washed their rivals away.
The series has arguably outgrown the name so it is no surprise that EA refused to be held to ransom. Many know the FIFA name only from the FIFA series.
Will the lack of license and subsequent name change make ANY difference to the series’ success?? Or will it cause a chilling effect amongst the most casual player who may not be aware of any such changes??
Let us know in the comments below…
