Last week rumors began surfacing that the long-running EA sports series FIFA, one of the best selling sports games in the world, might soon be changing its name. The series has used the organization known as FIFA or Fédération Internationale de Football Association’s name since it first premiered back in 1993.
Now new reports are surfacing which put into context the reason for this potential split between EA, the developers of the game, and the FIFA organization. These disagreements seemed to stem from both cost and new revenue streams with the franchise.
A new report in the @nytimes states that the dispute between EA and FIFA is related to cost and new revenue streams
FIFA wants to charge EA double the amount ($1bn+ every 4 years) for the license and limit EA's ability to monetise beyond the game itselfhttps://t.co/5gNas9Iz9b pic.twitter.com/hZ9YnOZDMN
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) October 13, 2021
According to a New York Times report FIFA wants to double the amount charged for the right to use their name, a total of $1 Billion dollars every four years, as well as limit the ability to monetize the game beyond the game itself. These monetization avenues, according to the report, include “highlights of actual games, arena video game tournaments and digital products like NFTs.”
This has ultimately lead to the company exploring other naming options for the franchise. Of course, in the gaming industry name recognition is an important factor. Currently, EA has trademarked “EA Sports FC” which could likely become the new title of the series should an agreement not be reached by the end of the year.
The deal that EA currently had with FIFA does not limit their use of official team or player names so fans of the series would not need to fear the loss of those. Instead, the deal in question only gave the series the rights to the FIFA name, their logo, as well as the World Cup.
FIFA itself has been plagued by controversies in recent years. Between 2013 and 2015 there was a large investigation into corruption in the company which resulted in multiple indictments and guilty pleas by employees. The 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia was also criticized, with media outlets alleging that kickbacks to the organization lead to the decision. The upcoming 2022 World Cup in Qatar has also seen similar allegations. An investigation into both is currently ongoing.
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