Not Only EA Sports - FIFA Wants Games From Other Publishers
FIFA believes that the future of football games and esports should not lay in the hands of a single publisher.
- FIFA has confirmed its long-term plans to develop the brand in the video games market beyond the support of EA Sports;
- The official announcement states that the future of football games and esports depends on the involvement of more than one party controlling and using the rights to the FIFA brand;
Recent reports have suggested that the possible renaming of the FIFA series is due to the title's ambitious plans. This unofficial information seems to be confirmed by a statement published on the official website of FIFA. According to it "the future of gaming and esports for football entities must include more than one party controlling and using" the brand rights.
As a reminder: a week ago, EA Sports suggested the possibility of renaming the FIFA series, perhaps - as suggested by the noted trademark - to EA Sports FC. From the article published by New York Times it seemed that the reason is the attitude of FIFA, which demands from the publisher more than twice the amount than before for the rights to the name, but also wants to limit its control over the brand in the video game market.
The new announcement seems to confirm the information provided by NYT. FIFA says it has conducted a "comprehensive and strategic assessment" of its long-term development plans in the video games market. The organization is already consulting not only investors and analysts, but also game developers. It also stressed that "technology and mobile companies are actively competing" for the opportunity to be associated with the FIFA brand.
The organization points out that video games and esports are "the fastest growing branches of media in the world". As such, FIFA - which has a "duty" to exploit the full potential of the brand - wants to make sure it has the support of a wide range of specialists in delivering "the best possible experience for fans and consumers".
In short - as sources told the New York Times - FIFA does not intend to leave the rights to the brand in the hands of a single company (read: EA Sports). Among other things, the organization's plans will be aided by the recent establishment of the FIFAe brand, which is intended to be an esports platform for games signed with the FIFA logo. Furthermore, it has been stressed that over the years football video games and real-life competitions have become inextricably linked and these ties need to be further strengthened. In practice, this will translate into titles and initiatives linked to the World Cup and the FIFA Women's World Cup.
