How FIFA Solved Its Video Game Identity Crisis

In 2022 after almost 30 years, Electronic Arts (EA) ended its collaboration with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). Reports suggested a plethora of reasons behind the split, ranging from long-standing licensing restrictions that EA found increasingly burdensome, to a steep hike in the licensing fee, which had surged beyond $1 billion for a four year period.

By ending the partnership, EA took a calculated risk, confident that it no longer needed the FIFA brand to maintain its market dominance. EA wagered that its devoted player base would still continue to purchase the rebranded EA Sports FC, recognizing it as the same beloved game they’d been playing for decades. 

This separation placed FIFA in a peculiar predicament. The FIFA game series had been perhaps the greatest marketing coup ever performed. FIFA was a name that everyone who’d ever touched a games console knew. For many, the name "FIFA" was synonymous with the video game long before they understood its connection to the international football governing body. And learning the namesake of their favorite football game just made sense. Of course the FIFA games were named after the FIFA organization! They’re the governing body in control of football.