Electronic Arts is toying with the idea of giving up the rights to the FIFA brand. This would mean that a FIFA 22 or FIFA 23 would be the last football game under this name from EA. But for the EA boss, Andrew Wilson, this doesn’t seem to be a nightmare scenario, as reports from an internal meeting say. Because FIFA is just “the 4 letters on the box”.
This is the situation:
- The football series “FIFA” is a huge revenue generator for EA year after year. They digitally represent current football, holding rights and licenses to thousands of players and clubs. They make a crazy amount of money with microtransactions.
- But now they are in danger of losing the “FIFA” license. The problem seems to be that FIFA wants too much money from them and EA is considering simply leaving FIFA behind and releasing the series under a different name.
- Now reports from an internal meeting at EA have surfaced, in which the EA boss, Andrew Wilson, downplays the significance of FIFA for the FIFA series.
Where does the information come from? The gaming site Videogameschronicle states that anonymous sources sent him a report from an internal EA meeting in November 2021.
This is how Wilson downplays FIFA: Wilson is said to have said:
- FIFA prohibits EA from expanding the game in modes that go beyond “11vs11”
- Moreover, under FIFA, one is not allowed to “expand the digital ecosystem” – by this, he means that EA cannot collaborate with brands like Nike within the FIFA series.
- He also says: FIFA gives the game series too little value. In a year without a World Cup, FIFA actually only contributes “4 letters on the front of the packaging”.
FIFA as a video game brand is more important than as an organization
These are Wilson’s quotes: The sources quote Wilson with some striking statements.
“I want to be open [with you], more open than to the public. We had a great run with FIFA for 30 years. We have created billions in value – that’s amazing. We have created one of the largest entertainment properties in the world. But I assert – and this may be a bit biased – that the FIFA brand as a video game brand is more significant than as an administrative organization for football. We do not take that for granted and we don’t want to be arrogant. We have worked hard to make FIFA understand what we need for the future.
What we essentially get from FIFA in years without a World Cup are the 4 letters on the front of the packaging – in a world where most people don’t even see the packaging anymore because they buy the game digitally. In a World Cup year, we get access to the World Cup, but when you think about it more broadly, the World Cup is important, but not the most important competition. We have 300 other licenses, and there we get the content that our players like and with which they engage the most.”
Andrew Wilson
EA allegedly says: FIFA prohibits cooperation with Nike due to adidas
According to Wilson, FIFA is holding the game series back. Because players want more flexibility:
- Players want more brands like Nike in the game – but FIFA is connected to adidas, so EA has no leeway here.
- Similarly, players would like modes that go beyond the classic 11vs11, but here too FIFA stands in the way.
- FIFA also slows everything down – players want more agility and flexibility.
Wilson says that this is what he is actually about: Not just the money, but also about developing the game that the players want while being faster and more agile.
Ultimately, Wilson says that losing the FIFA license might actually be the best thing for the game series.
What happens next? According to VGC, there will still be a FIFA 23, apparently with a Men’s World Cup and one for Women. What happens afterward, however, remains open.
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