Dropping FIFA brand "presents risks" for Electronic Arts, but EA Sports FC expected to perform well
James Batchelor
Editor-in-Chief
Thursday 31st March 2022
Electronic Arts
Rumours persist that Electronic Arts will rebrand its best-selling FIFA series to EA Sports FC -- a move that analysts tell us is risky, but unlikely to cripple the franchise's sales.
The rumour was revived this week when journalist Jeff Grubb, as reported by VGC, claimed sources confirmed to him that 'EA Sports Football Club' or 'EA Sports FC' is definitely the new name of the FIFA series.
"They are ready to move on, they have another name lined up," Grubb said on his Grubbsnax podcast, adding: "We should hear about it here pretty soon."
This year's release is still expected to be called FIFA 23, as EA's current licensing agreement with the football association lasts throughout 2022.
News that EA might rebrand FIFA first emerged in October, shortly before it emerged that FIFA reportedly wanted to double the cost of its licence to more than $1 billion for each four-year World Cup cycle. The association also added that it was interested in expanding beyond such an exclusive licensing agreement.
Around the same time, it was reported that the publisher had trademarked EA Sports FC.
FIFA is consistently one of the best-selling games every year -- in fact, it's the biggest games brand of all time in the UK.
However, analysts warn that a name change may impact the franchise's success, at least at first.
"Dropping the FIFA branding presents some commercial risks but also opens up opportunities for EA," Ampere Analysis' head of games research Piers Harding-Rolls tells GamesIndustry.biz.
The biggest risk, he says, is brand awareness -- especially when it comes to casual FIFA players. The loss of the branding is "likely to undermine sales to a limited extent" due to
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