Fascinating Dominoes That Lead to EA’s Divorce from FIFA
Each week, on my weekly news roundup podcast, thanks for the Knowledge I try to fill informational gaps from the top experts in the games industry. This week, I was able to get about half an hour from News Editor Imran Khan to help me understand the holiday season 2022 now that Starfield and Redfall are delayed.
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Imran was very helpful in sharing his insights about this. However, I couldn’t resist asking him about the most interesting bit of news this week: EA’s messy and public divorce from FIFA. This resulted in a complete rebranding of EA Sports’ most international and successful franchise. EA may be slightly underestimating the importance of “FIFA” to their football (not ours), and I believe it will cause market confusion. However, Imran and I had a great time laughing at FIFA’s comments regarding the move.
Concerning EA’s decision to not renew their licensing agreement with the huge international football governing body, FIFA President Gianni Intino stated:
I can guarantee you that the FIFA name is the most authentic and real game available. The FIFA name is the unique, global title. FIFA 23, FIFA 24, FIFA 25, FIFA 26 and FIFA 25, and so forth – The constant is the FIFA brand and it will always be THE BEST.
Gianni, buddy, that statement is filled with the most desperate energy you can bring to being told EA wanted other people to see it. FIFA’s license was too expensive and didn’t add enough value to the FIFA games franchise. EA is able to easily obtain licenses for club play which is the most appealing aspect of video games to the vast majority of the public. Imran and me discussed how FIFA was crucial to the expansion of football’s popularity in America in the 1990s. Club play was just beginning to blossom here, and most Americans who watched American football on TV knew little about it until the internet and television deals with major leagues allowed club play to be available to millions.
We briefly touched on the EA Sports lawsuit by the NCAA. This is the other college football’s governing body. It probably led to the games megacorp’s ease in going into business for itself and less work with large license holders who are more trouble than it’s worth.
EA Sports is better off pivoting to EA Sports FC then FIFA is with any partnerships they might create in the coming years. It’s obvious to everyone. This makes FIFA’s defiance even more hilarious.
It’s a great discussion! It is worth listening to. The following image was inspired by something Imran said. Below are links to news articles from reputable sources and a transcript of this week’s episode.
John: This week’s guest, was a winner in the Arcade Pit at Giant Bomb. This week’s Nintendo Voice Chat on IGN stole the show. I am proud to welcome Imran Khan, News Editor, home in a victory lap.
Imran The thing about the Arcade Pit is that one of the people we were up against was two of my closest friends, who promised to never forget it. They joked about sending me plaques every year if I won. I had to win.
John: Yeah. You did it. What a week! It’s big. Congratulations. I need Imran to get out my crystal ball. I’m going to ask you about the future.
We were able to learn a bit about the year’s end, as well as next year’s beginning with fiscal reports and projections from companies. There were also delays. Let me start with two major delays that weren’t big surprises but I wanted to mention them: Bethesda delaying Starfield, and Redfall.
Imran: Yeah. These are the only things Microsoft announced this year. (John laughs) It’s almost like they have a show every month. So maybe they fill in the year with that. These were their two major things, and Starfield ranked as their biggest, most important hitter at E3. This announcement that date was slipping with confidence could mean that they were never really that confident, or that the game is more chaotic than they thought. Schreier and Bethesda representatives said that they believe that the game would have been a Cyberpunk-style disaster had it been released at that time. John: “That’s just wild.
