Take-Two Boss Says That Making a 2K FIFA Game to Compete With EA Sports FC Would be 'Incredible Difficult'

ign.com:

Ever since EA revealed that it was dropping the FIFA license, rumors have abounded that arch-rival 2K Sports is planning to pick up the mantle and make its own soccer sim. But in today's earnings call, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said that any potential competitor to EA Sports FC would face numerous complications.

"I would just note with regards to the FIFA license, it does not bring along with it rights; it doesn’t come along with players, teams, or leagues," Zelnick said. "So it’s not as simple, for example, as negotiating with the NFL, or the NBA, or MLB, where at most you have to negotiate with a league and a player’s association. So anyone who would want to compete in the straight ahead sim environment for soccer… you wouldn’t just have to address one particular brand license, there’s a whole lot more than that."

Unlike American leagues like the NFL, international soccer consists of a complex web of teams, leagues, tournaments, and players, many of whom must be negotiated with individually. EA has largely cornered the market in that regard, locking up the rights to the Premier League, La Liga, and other popular groups with EA Sports FC. Konami spent years trying to chip away at EA's dominance with Pro Evolution Soccer before finally pivoting to the free-to-play eFootball, leaving EA largely uncontested in the soccer market.

EA dropped the FIFA license in 2022 amid reports that the organization, which serves as the governing body for the various national associations around the world, was asking for more than $1 billion per four-year World Cup cycle. EA rebranded the series as EA Sports FC in 2023 with relatively few changes. Since then there has been speculation that Take-Two might take on the FIFA license, but there remain numerous questions about how it would approach the licensing for various teams and leagues.

Zelnick did point out that there are great potential rewards for developing a successful sim. "We’re very mindful that it’s incredibly difficult to