Can FIFA's new football game really compete with the EAFC?
The FIFA football game franchise was no doubt one of the most lucrative and biggest game franchises in history. It was a joint venture between FIFA and Electronic Arts. However, following the release of FIFA 23, what seemed like an inseparable partnership suddenly came to an end after 30 years.
And so EA went its own way and released EAFC 24, which was their own standalone version of FIFA, which was a big hit, featuring Manchester City striker Erling Haaland as the cover star of the game. EAFC 25 is to be announced over the coming months. And with Euro 2024 coming up, a lot of people are betting at an online casino and sportsbook, so this would make the perfect platform to announce the next installment.
Why did it end?
So why did the two end their partnership? Well, it didn’t go down without a fight. The two giant brands spent months at the negotiating table trying to work out a deal surrounding the licensing for the game, which ultimately FIFA had control over. And when FIFA eventually announced that it was going its own way, EA eventually took the executive decision to simply rebrand the game. All they were missing out on was the licensing and the name, but the actual game itself had been developed by them so they had all of the software side of things under their ownership.
And so, what’s happened to FIFA? Well, since FIFA 23, there has been no update from FIFA’s side and it all went a bit quiet. And they have now fallen at a competitive disadvantage, as EAFC has the first-mover advantage. However, recently there was an announcement from the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, in relation to a possible rival to the EAFC. Although he hasn’t disclosed much, he has warned fans to ‘get ready’ for the competitor at the EAFC. Although he has kept his cards close to his chest, he has advised that they are developing with new partners and a new game. Referring to people playing others as not really playing the real thing.
In need of a partner
But FIFA obviously doesn’t have the infrastructure or expertise to develop the game themselves. And so who would they be working with? Surely we would have heard about something by now. And it would need to be a well-established developer to be able to support such a massive project and deliver on such expectations. There were rumours last year that they were in partnership with developer 2K in order to develop and release a fully licensed FIFA game.
No confirmation
However, without any firm confirmation that a game is in the pipeline, EAFC is probably more than happy for their dominance within the football video game market to remain untouched for the time being. And as we have already mentioned, they have a first-mover advantage, essentially having all football fans at their disposal as there is simply no viable competitor. There could, however, be a reason that FIFA is keeping their cards close to their chests. And speculation about the game might be what they are wanting people to do before suddenly dropping a bombshell with its release and disrupting the marketplace.
In Summary
And so over the next few months, it’s going to be exciting for football fans all over the world to eventually discover what the state of affairs is when it comes to FIFA’s new football game. Will there be one at all? Or have they just been bluffing all of this time? Only time will tell and maybe that might even schedule the announcement in line with the EURO 2024 tournament. I’m sure, like me, you can’t wait to eventually find out.