FIFA Being Rebranded As "EA Sports Football Club," Reports Say
Following recent rumors of a rebranding, reports suggest that the FIFA series will soon be renamed EA Sports Football Club. The long-running sports series, developed and published by Electronic Arts, has been associated with the international soccer association since 1993. A statement made last year suggested a split between EA Sports and the FIFA trademark, and it seems that this separation has come to fruition.
Despite a nearly 30-year partnership, recent statements from Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson suggest that the developer receives little benefit from its partnership with the FIFA brand. While soccer's top athletes are all associated with the international league, the rights to have athletes appear in-game are apparently handled separately. This means that real-world stars like Cristiano Rinaldo Kylian Mbappé could appear in EA's soccer simulators regardless of any association with FIFA. The soccer juggernaut apparently holds back branding rights, too, with an exclusive deal with Adidas printing other shoe brands from appearing in-game. FIFA rival UFL featuresCristiano Rinaldo, providing that the FIFA brand is not essential to EA's soccer franchise.
Related: FIFA's Brand Is Bad For EA's Games, CEO Says
As reported by Video Games Chronicle, 2022 may be the final year of FIFA and Electronic Arts' partnership. Industry insider Jeff Grubb, host of the podcast Grubbsnax, claims that the franchise will be renamed to EA Sports Football Club following this year's FIFA 23. Trademarks for the new name have already been filed by EA, according to Grubb, indicating that the spilt is essentially finalized. However, there has been no official confirmation from either FIFA or EA about the rumored schism.
Despite mounting
Read more on screenrant.com
