The world of gaming is going through a radical change which is the only constant. EA Sports main rival, PES (Pro Evolution Soccer) is already trying to make a move for the future as they introduced eFootball which will be free to play and also supports cross-platform.
Now, EA Sports are also thinking to bring a new change to the game. They are thinking of revamping the game and also change its name.
The word “FIFA” has become synonymous with the football game and changing it would be a massive step but EA needs to do something to keep up with time as FIFA 22 has received just 2.6 ratings on Metacritic despite its massive launch due to the age-old gameplay.
EA Sports’ statement
Cam Weber, group general manager of EA Sports, has said in a statement on the company’s official website: “We’re here to create the best experiences for football fans everywhere. To do that, we start by listening to our players.”
“We hear consistently that what matters most is growing the global community, creating innovative football experiences across new platforms, a commitment to every level of the sport including grassroots, and accelerating the elevation of the women’s game. As a result, we have a clear vision for the future of football.”
“Through years of building our global franchise, we also know that authenticity is essential to the experience. That’s why we focus so much energy on the collective strength of over 300 individual licensed partners that give us access to 17,000+ athletes across 700+ teams, in 100 stadiums and over 30 leagues around the world.”
“We continually invest in the partnerships and licenses that are most meaningful to players, and because of that, our game is the only place you can authentically play in the iconic UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, CONMEBOL Libertadores, Premier League, Bundesliga, and LaLiga Santander, among many others.”
“The breadth of our partnerships and our ecosystem of licensed content will enable us to continue to bring unrivalled authenticity in our EA SPORTS football games, now and for many years to come.”
“As we look ahead, we’re also exploring the idea of renaming our global EA SPORTS football games. This means we’re reviewing our naming rights agreement with FIFA, which is separate from all our other official partnerships and licenses across the football world.”
“The future of football is very big and very bright. Our priority is to ensure we have every opportunity to continue delivering the world’s greatest interactive football experiences. Thank you again for your support and feedback on this year’s game. We look forward to creating the future of football with you.”
FIFA ‘s history
EA Sports first launched their football-based video game in 1993, titles “FIFA International Soccer”. It was then launched by the name of FIFA Soccer in 1995 and 1996 and then launched under the name FIFA 97 in 1997.
EA Sports also released another game titled FIFA Street game between 2005 and 2008 and the main game was branded as FIFA Football from 2003 to 2005.
Since 2006, it has been referred to as “FIFA” and in 2016 FIFA Mobile came into existence. Not, it’s the age of FIFA 22 which was released on 1st October 2021.
Weber added on the success of that title: “Since launch, we’ve already had 9.1 million players join the game, 7.6 million Ultimate Team squads created and 460 million matches played. We will continue delivering amazing experiences throughout this season, but first – a heartfelt thank you to our incredible community of football fans.”
“While we are only at the beginning of our journey with you in this year’s game, we’re also focused on where we go from here.”
Despite the massive launch of FIFA 22, it has been deemed as the same old game with few tweaks in gameplay and nothing new. So, in order to keep up with their rivals and stay in the game, EA Sports must bring something new which would be appealing to the gamers. But changing the name of “FIFA” isn’t one of the changes required, according to me.
