After nearly three decades and more than three dozen games together, renewal talks have reportedly stalled between Electronic Arts (EA) and the world governing body of football FIFA over the naming of the highest-selling sports video game franchise in the world – EA Sports’ “FIFA” titles.
The New York Times has done a lengthy feature following a letter released last week in which EA Sports Group general manager Cam Weber said EA was “exploring the idea of renaming our global EA Sports football games”.
It may not be just a negotiating tactic either as Polygon reports that EA has already filed new UK & EU trademarks for ‘EA Sports F.C.’ with the trademark listed as being for ‘computer game software’ and ‘online computer game entertainment’.
The Times report says at least two years of talks over renewal of the licensing contract, which allows EA Sports to use the FIFA name, have hit a wall ahead of the current ten-year agreement’s termination after next year’s World Cup in Qatar.
Starting with the launch of FIFA International Soccer back in 1993, the franchise has had a virtual monopoly over football-themed video games. Sales of the game series, which releases an updated edition every year, have surpassed $20 billion over the past two decades.
The licensing agreement itself is also considered the FIFA organisation’s most valuable commercial agreement and is reportedly worth about $150 million per year to the sports body.
The report says the negotiating impasse is partly down to both a case of money (with FIFA allegedly seeking more than double what it currently receives), and what ‘exclusive rights’ should include with EA Sports allegedly wanting to “explore other ventures” in the gaming ecosystem from arena video game tournaments to digital products (eg. NFTs).
A decision is expected to be made by the end of the year.
Source: The New York Times
