EA announces that it will end its 30-year video game cooperation with FIFA, and the popular game “FIFA” will be renamed – yqqlm

Beijing time on the morning of May 11th, according to reports, after months of negotiations, Electronic Arts (EA) announced,30-year partnership with FIFA to end. this means,One of the most popular games of all time, FIFA, is coming to an end.

California-based EA will be in action following next summer’s Women’s World Cup,Renamed FIFA to EA Sports FCwhile the content will remain the same, with the same leagues, cups, clubs and players.

Cam Weber, executive vice president of EA Sports, said in the announcement: “This new independent platform will bring new opportunities to innovate, create and evolve. We exist to create the future for fans, whether it is Virtual or real, digital or physical, it’s all football.”

The termination of this partnership demonstrates that, as one of the world’s leading sports governing bodies,FIFA is looking to earn more digital revenueto make up for lost revenue from the Men’s World Cup, whileBetter use of this popular gaming IP to monetize.

Despite a long and profitable partnership, EA and FIFA have always disagreed over the brand value of “FIFA”. EA trademarked EA Sports FC last year, seemingly in preparation for the breakdown of the partnership. More details on EA Sports FC are expected to be announced next summer.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said: “I can guarantee that for gamers and fans,The only game that’s really named after ‘FIFA’ will be the best. ‘FIFA’ is the only global, original title for the game. FIFA23, FIFA24, FIFA25, FIFA26 and more, the ‘FIFA’ name is the same and will always be there, always in the best quality. “

Currently,FIFA generates approximately $150 million annually from this partnership. This is FIFA’s biggest commercial revenue aside from the men’s World Cup held every four years.

According to EA’s annual report, the FIFA series is EA’s “biggest, hottest” game,Approximately 150 million players.Gamers hit $70 a year for new releases on console and PCand EA also offers a free version on mobile.

EA’s annual report shows that in the year ended March 31, 2021, the “FIFA Ultimate Team” model generated a significant portion of the $1.6 billion in net revenue, or about 29% of total net revenue. The mode allows gamers to compete online and spend money to upgrade their teams. The number of players in FIFA Ultimate Team in 2021 has increased by 16%.

Some of the world’s largest soccer tournament organizers have backed EA.EA relies on these licensing agreements to use the brands of top leagues, teams and star players.

The richest domestic league in the world, Premier League chief executive Richard Masters called EA a “long-term and valuable partner”. La Liga president Javier Tebas said the Spanish league was “committed to working with EA Sports FC in the coming years”. UEFA, the organizer of the Champions League, and the South American Football Confederation, organizer of the Copa Libertadores, also expressed support.

EA’s sports games also include “Madden Football” with the NFL, “NHL” with the National Hockey League, as well as “F1” and “UFC”. EA’s other hits include life simulation game The Sims 4 and free-to-play tactical arena game Apex Legends. In April last year, the company bought Glu Mobile, the game publisher whose most popular role-playing game centers on animated characters from Kim Kardashian, for $2.4 billion.