The company also spoke about the release of FIFA 22 and the future of the EA Sports video game series. EA is seriously considering changing the name of its football franchise. Who understands this?

Sports titles are becoming more mainstream in the video game industry, and annual franchises are gaining popularity as they become part of the collective consciousness. We get revisited every twelve months. In this respect, the FIFA saga is undoubtedly the most important of all existing franchises, even among the star games. Today, however, we learn that it may be discontinued in this form.

In an official press release posted on their website, Electronic Arts commented on the recent release of FIFA 22 and the future of their football video game series. In the end, they warn that they are considering the possibility of the string dropping the FIFA name in future releases, distancing themselves from the international federation’s acronym. “We are exploring the idea of rebranding EA Sports football games. We are currently reviewing our rights agreement with FIFA, which remains separate from our other sponsorship and licensing agreements we have in the world of football,” they said.

If this were to happen, we would find ourselves in an extraordinary situation, especially as Pro Evolution Soccer, a competing brand, has also recently disappeared. Konami‘s series has moved towards free-to-play and is now called eFootball, although it’s not much of a thrill in its current state. But if FIFA were to break its contract now, we would be faced with two historic sports games that would be nameless.

To complicate matters further, EA is celebrating the successful debut of FIFA 22, which has again topped the latest sales charts. The new football game seems to be a good direction for the next-gen console generation, but, indeed, the new features have not revolutionised the gameplay so far. Despite this, the sports simulator has “hit a record high”, amassing 9.1 million players across PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and Stadia versions since 26 September. In just two weeks, the game mode has generated 7.6 million player-created teams, with 460 million matches already played. The data was provided in part by FIFA: Ultimate Team.

Source: EA.com