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FIFA has suggested that it no longer wants to work exclusively with EA on the future of football video games.
In a recent statement, football's governing body stated that it will "adopt a new commercial positioning in gaming and esports to ensure that it is best placed to make decisions that benefit all football stakeholders." With that in mind, the association says that "this needs to be a space that is occupied by more than one party controlling all rights."
That's a pretty open shot at EA, which has suggested in recent weeks that it might be prepared to drop the rights to the FIFA name for its future football titles, resulting in FIFA 23 getting a new game. EA has also issued new trademarks hinting at a potential new name for the series, amid reports that FIFA wanted to double the cost of its name and limit the company's use of microtransactions going forward.
FIFA says that it's speaking to players and developers to better understand the future of its take on video games and that it is "of crucial importance for FIFA and its stakeholders to maximize all future opportunities for football and gaming fans." Put simply, FIFA is hoping to find ways to leverage its gaming identity outside EA's long-running series, using events like the men's and women's World Cups to help do so.
While neither FIFA nor EA has expressed outright discontent with each other at this point, the disagreement between the two parties is growing increasingly more public. Given their thirty-year history and EA's enduring dominance of the football gaming scene, it'll be fascinating to see what long-term impact any changes could have.
