Why FIFA and EA Ended their Partnership
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After the release of FIFA 22 last year, there were plenty of rumors going around, suggesting that this could be the last collaboration between EA and FIFA. Initially, not many people paid attention to these reports because the EA and FIFA partnership had been going on for almost 3 decades and things were going relatively smoothly.

Now, however, it is all but confirmed that FIFA and EA have parted ways and EA plans to continue producing football games without football’s governing body. The upcoming football game by EA will be known as EA Sports FC.

What Caused the Partnership to End

It would be fair to say that the partnership between FIFA and EA was arguably the most successful in the commercial world. It is a major reason why sports fans were shocked after learning that the two decided to go different ways. FIFA and Electronic Arts had tense negotiations for months, where both tried to continue their longstanding partnership. However, the two could not come to an agreement.

Initially, the current deal between the two parties was set to run until the World Cup takes place in Qatar. But now, there have been some adjustments, and the deal will run until next summer’s women’s World Cup. After that tournament ends, more than one hundred and fifty million players of this game will need to get used to the new EA Sports FC name.

Was the Writing on the Wall?

While many people thought that the relationship between FIFA and EA sports ended abruptly, the writing was already on the wall. The main dispute came from the fact that both parties had different financial goals and expectations. FIFA wanted double the amount EA sports was providing them annually.  This amount was reported to be around $150 million and FIFA wanted around three million Dollars.

FIFA also wanted to double its licensing fee, which EA was not pleased with. Initially, EA was the only developer with the rights to include FIFA’s official events and games. However, FIFA officials realized that solely providing the players and events right to EA was restricting them, after which they decided to increase the licensing fee.

EA did not agree to pay such a hefty amount and decided to part ways with the governing body of world football. While many believed that this would result in a massive overhaul in FIFA games, that is not the case. In fact, gamers can expect EA Sport FC games to be more or less the same as previous FIFA versions. Sure, there will be a few tweaks here and there, but the main will remain the same.

What Now?

FIFA has decided to provide image rights and licenses to several other video game developers, which suggests that there are plenty of football games on the horizon. What’s more, FIFA also plans to collaborate with a video game studio and release its own football simulation games. Needless to say, EA sports will have plenty of competition in the near future.