As the digital landscape for football enthusiasts continues to evolve, many are searching for competitive edges in gaming and betting. For those looking to enhance their online betting experience with the most lucrative deals, finding the best betting bonuses Bangladesh becomes a priority. This quest for value parallels the seismic shifts occurring in football video games, notably the rebranding of FIFA 24 into EA Sports FC 24.
According to the New York Times journalists, the international football federation FIFA demanded a double licence fee. The developers were simply put before the fact: either you give us $ 150 million, or we go our separate ways. Electronic Arts chose the second option.
The developers of the simulator had long planned to move away from FIFA, having questioned the feasibility of such a licence. “In essence, what we get from FIFA, except for the World Cup – it’s four letters on the front of the disc,” – that’s how Electronic Arts reasoned. And one can understand the publisher: EA still had to buy the rights to individual leagues separately.
What EA’s Football Simulator Will Be Like for the Foreseeable Future
For 20 years, Electronic Arts has stuck to roughly the same strategy and, in recent years, has slid down to minimal gameplay changes and siphoning players’ money through microtransactions. Now is the perfect time to start fresh.
You can’t ride on just the name alone now. If FIFA 24 on the cover sold itself, the game’s name, EA FC (hopefully only a temporary name), would cause a stir among newcomers. What, pray tell, is it?
The severing of ties with FIFA marks not the death of the football franchise but a new beginning. That’s precisely what Electronic Arts believes, having set out to expand its reach with more football licences.
The publisher has recently acquired exclusive rights to fully copy the Premier League, La Liga and UEFA Champions League in the new game. This means that the simulator with a new name will not suffer the fate of Pro Evolution Soccer, where real leagues and clubs were mixed with fake ones FIFA 24.
EA plans to involve more than 300 new licence partners. We are yet to find out how it will be realised in practice. But the publisher is sure that Sports FC will be the only place football fans can play real players in iconic championships.
FIFA Will Continue to Exist but as Part of a Separate Game from EA
Football officials reacted to the refusal of Electronic Arts accordingly and did not put up with the departure of the developers. According to the organisation’s president, Gianni Infantino, FIFA plans to create its simulator from third-party developers, becoming a competitor to Electronic Arts.
“The new FIFA game – FIFA 25, 26, 27 and so on – will always be the best game for girls or boys, news about that will come very soon,” the functionary said. Since then more than a year has passed, and the football simulator from the football organisation has not been unveiled. Either the official was lying, or FIFA was in no hurry to decide. If the officials agree with the same 2K, then ordinary gamers will only benefit from it.
The Football Gaming Market Could Get Two Strong Competitors
In this case, we get two competitors with different philosophies. For many years, FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer were the only popular football games in the world. Now, the former has decided to separate from FIFA and is dreaming of changing the concept, while the latter has deliberately gone for a free-to-play distribution model focusing on mobile gameplay.
There is little doubt that EA Sports FC can successfully exist and develop outside the FIFA brand. But if FIFA realises its plans and finds someone who can create a good football product, we will see several football simulators of good quality. Players will have at least one choice that has been unavailable for a long time.
And it’s sad. If there’s going to be a revolution in the football gaming community, it won’t be today, and it won’t be now. Infantino talked about FIFA 25, 26, 27… And nothing was said about FIFA 24. Otherwise, Electronic Arts will remain a monopoly and continue to flood players with lootboxes despite the discontent of the latter. The publisher didn’t even think about an exciting name for the game and chose the most unremarkable one. And why invent and invent something when there is nobody else but you?
FIFA 24 will capitalise on the brand’s popularity, and surely many gamers will just buy “the next FIFA”, unaware that Electronic Arts is not responsible for the development. But Electronic Arts will invest a gigantic amount of money to ensure EA Sports FC is properly advertised – the first instalment of the new series is due to launch in the second half of 2023.