Renaming: FIFA will soon be called EA Sports FC

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“Raider is now called Twix – otherwise nothing will change!” advertised a chocolate bar manufacturer in 1991. EA is planning a similarly effective rebranding with its football series. Starting next year, EA Sports FIFA (FIFA) will become EA Sports FC. Otherwise nothing changes (for now).

In the fall, an era comes to an end: FIFA 23 will be the last sports game with the name of the organization. The renaming, which was hinted at months ago, has obvious advantages for EA. Eliminated brand name fees will be included. The amount is unknown, but a report by the New York Times last year spoke of around one billion US dollars for four years, which FIFA is said to have demanded for an extension of the license rights beyond 2022. The scope of the rights was also disputed: EA would have liked to use the license for things beyond the pure game, such as for NFTs, which FIFA likes to market themselves, the report said. The lack of real competition also makes the step seem cheap at the moment, since Konami's eFootball is one of the lowest rated games on Steam. Licenses remain

In the announcement, EA also tries to emphasize that nothing should change in scope. For example, video footage shows a variety of clubs that are said to be part of the game.

The “biggest football community in the world” came into being with FIFA, the company explains. It is now to be detached from the brand and become its own platform. More than 300 partners with whom there are individual license agreements become part of FC. They grant access to 19,000 athletes in 700 teams, 100 stadiums and 30 worldwide leagues. These include the UEFA Champions League, the Europa League and the Bundesliga. This scope is to be expanded in the future. In addition, “innovations in new areas” are announced, for example in the area of ​​women's and children's football. The change should also have no effect on FIFA 23. The biggest and most comprehensive game in the series is promised.

Update 05/11/2022 08:20 a.m.

FIFA has also commented on the renaming. Effective immediately, the license will no longer be granted exclusively, which is already the case for the current year. EA only retains the right to publish one simulation game under the FIFA name, thereby securing FIFA 23. The organization wants to offer “more choice” for fans in the run-up to the championships in Qatar and the women's world championships in Australia and New Zealand.

A number of games that will not be simulations are already in development, the release is planned for the third quarter of the current year. A new football simulation is scheduled for release in 2024. In this regard, FIFA is still in talks with publishers and investors. “The only authentic game with the FIFA name will be the best available,” announced FIFA President Gianni Infantino. It will be exciting to see whether the game can live up to this claim, because FIFA expressly describes the games segment as a growth sector. So it's also about profits. Not losing sight of the fun of playing while striving for profit is not a matter of course, as Konami's eFootball clearly shows.