FIFA rumors shot down as popular sports developer denies working with federation

The FIFA video game series is now called EA Sports FC, as the developer has immediately recovered from its public divorce with the football federation.

FIFA has promised that it will form a new partnership with another developer, but this has not yet happened.

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In March 2023, FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced that there would be news about a new FIFA series starting with FIFA 25 “very soon”, but with no announcement yet, it is unlikely to start with this entry, if it appears at all. .

People immediately began speculating that FIFA would be working with Take-Two on a new FIFA-branded series, as the company is EA Sports’ main competitor in the sports video game space.

Rumors increased when Lego 2K Goal appeared on the online store before being removed.

People believe it was removed for a FIFA rebrand, but Take-Two denied working with the federation in a recent earnings call.

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick was asked about the rumors during the conference call and said that a partnership with FIFA was not currently in the plans.

The company already has a successful football series, Top Eleven, on mobile, but Strauss says: “it’s incredibly difficult to build a great simulation experience for console.”

While he doesn’t seem interested in working with FIFA, he hasn’t ruled out the partnership, saying: “If you do it right, your users will be very loyal and very integrated.”

However, he explained to investors the difficulties of working on a FIFA-branded game, comparing the license unfavorably to the company’s other sports titles.

Strauss said, “It’s not as simple as negotiating with the NFL, NBA or MLB where, at most, you have to negotiate with a league and a players association.”

He admits that when creating a football game, the FIFA license “does not come with players, teams or leagues”, as it is necessary to obtain multiple licenses for each of them.

EA CEO Andrew Wilson previously commented that the FIFA license consists of just “four letters in a box”, pointing out how little that means in the digital age.

It is rumored that EA Sports and FIFA’s divorce was caused by the federation’s request for $1 billion (£800 million) in exchange for its name.

Although the series has changed its name, EA Sports FC continues to enjoy huge success as players continue to play the popular EA Sports series.

If you want to read more about football games, check out our EA Sports FC 25 preview.