Following EA Sports, the world football association FIFA has now also announced that it will develop its own game. The football association is in talks with publishers and game studios about the development of its own football game. On Tuesday it was announced that the collaboration with EA Sports will end after almost thirty years as a result of high costs that FIFA asks for the use of, among other things, the name. FIFA president Gianni Infantino hopes to release the first game later this year.
The collaboration between EA Sports and FIFA started almost 30 years ago, in 1993. In those years, more than three hundred million copies of the football game have been sold. It was announced at an earlier stage that both parties did not intend to extend the expiring contract. FIFA and EA agreed on a short extension of the collaboration, so that the last edition of the game, FIFA 23, will be released in the fall of 2022. Due to the expiring contract in December of this year, EA Sports was forced to choose a new name for the computer game for next year. From 2023, EA will release the game we now know as FIFA under the name EA Sports FC.
FIFA has now announced that it wants to compete with EA Sports. The football association has indicated that it will market a football game itself and is already developing the first games. The association is trying to release the first game later this year with a view to the World Cup in Qatar. In addition, the World Football Association wants to release a football simulation game. “The one and only authentic football game to bear FIFA’s name remains the best for gamers and football enthusiasts,” Infantino said in a statement. “This game remains the best. FIFA 23, FIFA 24, and so on.”
EA Sports reported on Tuesday that there will be no content changes to the game as deals have been made with clubs and leagues over the use of player names and various club logos. “Everything you love about the game will be part of EA Sports FC,” the EA Sports statement read. Fans of FIFA will therefore be able to choose their favorite players and clubs again in 2023. The Eredivisie will be represented next year, it was announced on Twitter on Tuesday. In addition, EA Sports has ongoing contracts with the Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A and LaLiga, among others. Several clubs, including Ajax, announced on social media on Tuesday that they are “part of the club” when the new phase of FIFA starts in 2023.
We are in the club. Learn more, July 2023 ??#EASPORTSFC pic.twitter.com/pNqSlvhx9d
— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) May 10, 2022