VGC received exclusive intel from an anonymous source about an internal meeting with EA’s CEO Andrew Wilson. In the meeting, Wilson was candid with how they viewed the FIFA brand and the franchise as a whole. Wilson finds the FIFA license to be an “impediment” to the future growth of the franchise.
Per VGC’s report, Wilson told employees in the meeting that they believe FIFA the brand means more as a video game than it does as a governing body of soccer — though they did admit they were a “little biased.” Wilson also feels that despite 30 years of having a good relationship with FIFA and making a fortune off the games, at this point the only thing EA gains from the FIFA license in a non-World Cup year is “four letters on the front of the box.”
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Wilson further elaborates that the FIFA brand prevents them from doing more game modes that differ from the typical 11v11 soccer playstyle that FIFA abides by. The FIFA license also doesn’t allow EA to use certain brands in the games because of deals FIFA has. Wilson uses Nike as an example; since FIFA has a relationship with Adidas, EA has to minimize how many Nike products show up in the game.
It should be noted that neither EA nor FIFA have officially commented on this report, and everything stated in VGC should be taken with skepticism until more official information is revealed.
This isn’t the first time that EA and FIFA haven’t seen things eye-to-eye, with a report from New York Times detailing that negotiation between the two companies stalled. The New York Times piece also claims that FIFA demanded EA double its licensing payment to $2.5 billion over the next decade. It’s very much possible that EA is looking to move on from the FIFA branding and may create its own soccer-based game series that isn’t reliant on FIFA. However, EA still intends to release FIFA 23 later this year.
