May 15, 2022 10:00 GMT

Gaming News Team

EA Sports to End its Video Game Partnership with FIFA after 3 Decades

The wildly popular FIFA video-game series is about to go in a different direction for the first time since its launch, thirty years ago. The football based video-game will be rebranded EA Sports FC next year, as Electronic Arts and its subsidiary EA Sports will end a three-decade partnership with FIFA, the gaming company announced on Tuesday.

The New York Times stated that "months of tense negotiations" between California-based Electronic Arts (EA) and FIFA's regulatory body failed to result in an agreement to retain the partnership between both parties.

FIFA apparently wanted EA's annual payment of $150 million to be upped to $250 million or more.

In a statement, Cam Weber, EVP and group GM for EA Sports & Racing, said, "This new independent platform will bring fresh possibilities — to develop, create, and evolve." "But not before we produce our most expansive game ever with our existing naming rights partner, FIFA," he added.

Thanks to separate licence agreements with global soccer leagues in England, Spain, Italy, Germany, the United States, and European soccer body UEFA, EA will keep most of the club and player likenesses that have made the game so successful. FIFA events, such as the World Cup, will not be included, as they were in FIFA 18.

FIFA announced in a statement that it has given EA a one-year extension to release the FIFA 23 video game later this year, which will include the 2019 FIFA men's and women's World Cups. However, in the following two years, FIFA will aim to produce new games with "third party studios and publishers," and is in talks for a "big new" FIFA game in 2024.

"I can tell you that the only authentic, real FIFA game will be the finest accessible for gamers and football enthusiasts," FIFA President Gianni Infantino said earlier this week in a statement. "FIFA 23, FIFA 24, FIFA 25, FIFA 26, and so on — the constant is the FIFA name, which will exist forever and be THE BEST," he concluded.

While EA Sports owns a number of popular video game sports franchises, including Madden (American football), NHL (hockey), PGA Tour (golf), and Formula 1 (racing), FIFA is the company's most profitable.

In its most recent annual report, the corporation stated, "FIFA is our largest and most popular game and franchise". "Our FIFA series, including the yearly console and PC game, which is regularly one of the best-selling games in the industry... is and will continue to be material to our business".

COMPANY: EA SPORTS

https://www.ea.com/