It is the end of an era! This phrase applies well to the football simulator franchise developed by Electronic Arts (EA), the FIFA. According to a note released by the company this Thursday (7), the game can change its name for the next editions, repeating what happened with its rival, Pro Evolution Soccer (PES), which from this year started to be called eFootball by Konami. In the case of FIFA, the imbroglio involves the renewal of a contract with the biggest football entity, bond ending in 2022.
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EA Sports considers changing the name of the FIFA franchise
EA Sports, EA's arm focused on the development of sports games, has strong brands licensed for its game franchise, such as NFL (American football league), the NBA (basketball league) and the F1. These contracts will continue to exist, as will those for important football world championships, such as Premier League (England), the Bundesliga (Germany) and the The League (Spain), the latter was recently renovated until 2030.
The developer has also extended the link with Uefa and the Bundesliga for the use of the brands in the Champions League and Bundesliga tournaments within the game, as well as the Conmebol Libertadores. With these agreements in place, EA understands that the FIFA brand is no longer essential to identify the game as an official football simulator.
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financial issue
In addition to the extension of contracts with the main football leagues, there is also the financial issue. According to NYT journalist Tariq Panja, EA pays FIFA more than US$ 100 million per year (R$ 548 million). This is the main commercial income of the international federation today. Due to the economic crisis caused by the pandemic, EA is studying not renewing the contract and thus saving this high amount.
Launched in 1993, the FIFA franchise has survived several generations of consoles, from the Mega Drive, Super Nintendo, Master System and Nintendo 64, to the most current PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series. For now, we can say that it's too early to guess about the new name of EA's football game franchise.
