EA Sports and FIFA Extend Exclusive License Agreement to 2022

[Shawn Zipay]

Well, it looks as though EA and EA Sports will enjoy about another decade of FIFA exclusivity. This agreement says that EA Sports "maintains exclusive rights to release FIFA-branded action and management videogames. In addition, EA Sports also holds exclusive rights to release the official FIFA World Cup" game.

“EA SPORTS released the first FIFA-branded soccer game in 1993, and 20 years later our partnership with FIFA continues to be very strong,” said Andrew Wilson, Executive Vice President and Head of EA SPORTS. “Our franchise has become the benchmark for quality and innovation in the sports videogame genre, and we look forward to many more years of connecting with consumers around the world with our games carrying the prestigious FIFA name.”

“Our relationship with EA SPORTS is of high importance to FIFA,” said Jérôme Valcke, FIFA Secretary General. “The FIFA videogames are a key experiential component in our work to communicate the FIFA brand and its values all over the world. This is highlighted by the 2.5 million football fans that have competed in this year’s FIFA Interactive World Cup, which is just one example of the power of our partnership with EA.”

Throughout the world, the FIFA lineup of games continues to be a bestseller for EA and EA Sports and is typically widely praised from reviewers and gamers all over. So I guess they must be doing something right there!

[K-16]

I feel sorry for Nintendo fans. They're forced to buy Winning Eleven/Pro Evolution Soccer due to lack of choice until Nintendo makes their consoles more enticing for EA. If FIFA was willing to allow multiple companies to use their brand, then I believe those companies would consider giving the Wii U a decent port unlike EA.