The end of the FIFA license also means the arrival of a whole new simulation of the game of football. The mysterious EA Sports FC 24 will be the new production of EA about which we learned some news recently.
FIFA, it’s over, and we’ve known it for a year. Disputes between the International Football Federation and Electronic Arts led to the fall of the famous football game license, replaced by a brand new project: EA Sports FC. This new creation from EA on which official information is extremely limited should see the light of day by the end of 2023, to fill the massive void left by the disappearance of FIFA in a still very popular market. However, the name of EA Sports FC 24 recently appeared on the net, in discussions between dataminers who would have discovered its official release date.
If EA remains extremely silent on the content or even the name of its next football simulation, this is not the case for some dataminers. Billbil-kun, a respected member of the Dealabs community, reportedly managed to source the release date for the upcoming EA Sports FC 24, as it would be named. It would take place on September 29 and would be preceded by an early access period for all owners of the Deluxe and Ultimate versions of the game, starting September 22. Nothing too new for an Electronic Arts release that has economically mastered the subject of football simulations for almost 30 years now. It remains to wait for the movement on the side of EA to confirm these rumors.
The most significant change will therefore be the change of title of EA games which, from 2023, will be sold under the name EA Sports FC. In fact, this title change should have little impact on the gaming experience, which has been well mastered for years by historical developers at EA. On the other hand, the next football productions of Electronic Arts will have to make a cross on the contents dedicated to the World Cup, licensed directly by FIFA.
When it comes to club-related content, Electronic Arts was extremely reassuring: “Everything you love about our games will be in EA Sports FC – the same experiences, game modes, leagues, tournaments, clubs and sports Ultimate Team, Career, Pro Clubs, VOLTA will all be there Our unique license portfolio, which we have continued to invest in for decades, with over 19,000 players, 700 teams, 100 stadiums and 30 leagues, will only be available in EA Sports FC. This includes exclusive partnerships with the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and MLS – and more.” No change to be expected on the vast majority of the usual content of FIFA games which will therefore be the basis of work for future EA productions, which however announces its desire to “innovate, create and evolve” after having freed itself from visibly difficult partner in business.
The Electronic Arts press release announcing the start of construction of EA Sports Football Club also mentioned a new partnership signed with the equipment manufacturer Nike. The manufacturer expressed their excitement at working with EA Sports in mid-2022. “We are excited to continue and expand our longstanding partnership with EA Sports as we serve athletes who are at the intersection of sport, gaming and culture”. The strengthening of this partnership between Nike and Electronic Arts is not at all a coincidence. Andrew Wilson, CEO of EA, explained in February 2022 to VGC that FIFA players “are asking for more commercial and cultural brands that speak to them, that are relevant in their markets, so that they are more deeply integrated into the game. “Brands like Nike. Today, because of the relationship between FIFA and Adidas, we can’t do that.” So that’s also something that should change with EA Sports FC: more space for brands within the football game.