EAFC is the first game in the “FIFA series” that is not called FIFA. But what happened, and why has EA chosen not to continue with the name, that has defined the most popular football game?
Since 1993, EA has published a new football game with FIFA incorporated into the title. FIFA International Soccer was the first game in the series, that since was just known as FIFA. For 30 years straight the partnership between the International Football Association FIFA and EA went on, but in 2022 the FIFA23 title became the last in the long line of games that carried the famous name.
A money dispute between FIFA and EA is believed to be the issue that made talks about continuing the partnership fall apart. FIFA is reported to be asking $300M in fees per year for EA to use their name and brand in future FIFA titles. A fee that would double the previous price of $150M.
In May 2022, EA announced that future titles from 2023 and onwards would not be called FIFA anymore. FIFA later responded with a statement from the FIFA president, Gianni Infantino.
“I can assure you that the only authentic, real game that has the FIFA name will be the best one available for gamers and football fans. The FIFA name is the only global, original title. FIFA 23, FIFA 24, FIFA 25, FIFA 26, and so on – the constant is the FIFA name and it will remain forever and remain THE BEST.”
Will there be another FIFA in the future?
While FIFA has been rumored to be partnering up with several other game developers, there is no closure on who will carry on the “FIFA-torch” in the future.
Meanwhile, it is safe to say, that EA has managed to rebrand their game with success. The sales of the pre-release access to EAFC 24 rose by 25 percent to 6.8mn copies compared to the previous year.
