Since last year, it has been talked about that EA has planned to leave the name FIFA once and for all. Apparently, the cost of renewing the license has become too expensive for EA , so they are looking to distance this association and start with their own brand of soccer games.
Now, a new report by VGC mentions that the EA CEO, Andrew Wilson, described the license of FIFA as an “impediment” and “four letters in front of a Box, in a world where people do not even see boxes because they prefer to buy digital game. “
According to this report, Wilson argued that leaving the license will allow them to expand their catalog of games and be more flexible with the type of content within them. They will not lose any equipment or league, since they are handled separately. In the words of Wilson :
“As we have seen towards the future, we want to grow the franchise and ironically FIFA’s license has been an impediment to do this. Our players tell us that they want more cultural and commercially relevant brands in their markets, which are more involved with the game – brands like Nike. But as FIFA has a relationship with adidas, we can not do that. “
WILSON continued saying that
“I could tell you, it has been a fight that FIFA recognizes the kind of things we want to create, because they say that our license only covers certain categories.”
Certain recent games of FIFA have included Volta soccer as an alternative way of playing, but this content definitely feels much more diluted compared to the main game.
In this same report, it is mentioned that Wilson met with the president of the FIFA ** to discuss some of his greatest concerns he had about the future of these games:
“I met with Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, a couple of weeks ago where I said, ‘Look, money is a topic: we do not want to pay more than the license is worth. But that’s not why it’s about our ability to offer games and experiences that our fans want. “
At the moment, FIFA 23 is still scheduled to be released at some point of this year, so the decision to change the name would see it reflected until the delivery of 2024.
Editor’s note: FIFA games definitely need to improve, because although recent deliveries have proven to be a progress for the franchise, they are not the great thing either. If you really want to evolve the saga, sooner or later you should distance yourself from the license or flat to reach a new agreement.