What’s going on at FIFA? In the last days there was more and more talk about the fact that EA Sports could aim for a reorientation regarding the name after FIFA 22.

• First, EA Sports announced in a press release, “Looking ahead, we are also exploring the idea of renaming our global EA Sports soccer games.”
• Then the New York Times reported that the FIFA license for EA Sports would become quite costly in the future and could come with restrictions. You can read more about the costs here.
• EA also extended its partnership with FIFPRO, which includes a large chunk of important naming rights for the games.
• EA also registered the name “EA Sports FC” – a hint at a possible new name?

These reports are now followed by another hint: FIFA published a statement that deals with an expansion of its own gaming and e-sports division. Striking: Neither EA Sports nor the well-known FIFA series are mentioned in the statement.

FIFA statement talks about new partners

What does FIFA say? FIFA’s statement emphasizes that they are looking for a long-term future in gaming and e-sports. It clearly addresses that changes are coming: “FIFA will reposition itself commercially in gaming and e-sports so that it can make decisions in the best interests of all soccer stakeholders.”

Among other things, FIFA states that it is moving away from the idea of working with only one partner: “FIFA believes in its future in gaming and e-sports for soccer and is convinced that no one party alone should control all rights,” the statement says: “Technology and mobile companies are actively seeking to work with FIFA, its platforms and global tournaments.”

It said it was in contact with various industry representatives. These are said to be analysts, developers and investors who are to work out a long-term strategy in the gaming sector. Concrete names of new partners are not mentioned – but neither is that of EA Sports.

Specifically, it is stated that FIFA will “better integrate e-sports and FIFA soccer competitions with each other.[…] want to link” and, to that end, use the FIFA World Cup and FIFA Women’s World Cup to offer new games and e-sports offerings. It also aims to organize basically “skill-based e-sports tournaments.”

New competition for FIFA 22 successors?

What does this mean for the game “FIFA”? There is no concrete announcement yet that a separation of EA Sports and FIFA is actually imminent. But more and more details point to the fact that a radical change could follow here.

In the game FIFA, a lot of content comes through other partnerships, such as with FIFPro, but also leagues and federations. So it would also be possible to continue the game “FIFA” in a different framework. However, the name that has been used for many years should probably be history, should one decide to separate.

At the same time it might be interesting, if FIFA decides to give the rights to another game developer. Here could possibly arise new competition on the soccer market in gaming for EA.

The long-time competitor to FIFA, Pro Evolution Soccer, was just going through a shakeup itself. However, the launch of the new “eFootball” went anything but well. In addition, “UFL” seems to announce another competitor in terms of soccer.

It will be exciting to see how the situation around FIFA and EA Sports develops further. As soon as there is more information, we will keep you up to date at MeinMMO.

What do you think about a change of the FIFA series? Do you think it is necessary – or would you prefer to keep everything as it is? And would it be an option for you to switch to a new game series, should an alternative arise? Tell us in the comments!