Gaming News The Creators Of GTA V Behind The Next FIFA Soccer Games?
FIFA and EA are over! The collaboration between the two companies ends and EA must therefore change the name of its successful license. Above all, the big question is who will inherit the partnership with the football association and thus the name FIFA? Among all the hypotheses, one challenger seems more serious than the others: Take Two (GTA, Red Dead Redemption).
EA and Take Two: the eternal rivals
While the soccer simulation market has long been split between Konami (PES) and EA (FIFA), Take Two (2K) and EA have competed in the broader sports games market for years. The two publishers have outperformed each other on various fronts, from ice hockey (NHL and NHL 2K) to basketball (NBA 2K and NBA Live), tennis (Grand Slam Tennis and Top Spin) or golf (PGA Tour 2K and EA Sport-PGA Trip). And more often than not, the match ended in favor of Take Two.
But Take Two never really invested in football. Between PES and FIFA it was actually difficult to find a place, even for a giant like Take Two. But as rumors of a potential ending to the FIFA-EA deal began to mount, the CEO of the publisher of GTA and Read Dead Redemption seemed poised to jump at the opportunity to grab a piece of the pie. To put the comments into context, they followed the acquisition of Nordeus by Take Two, a studio working on the football management game Top Eleven Football Manager. And the least we can say is that dear Strauss Zelnick has been pretty enigmatic about the company’s future investments in the football game market:
We are delighted that Nordeus is part of the Take Two family. They’re a hit and Top Eleven is a great, popular game. Thanks to Top Eleven and the team at Nordeus, I couldn’t be happier to be in the football management game business. It’s a big step forward for us… We’ve never been in this sport before. And uh, I guess I’ll leave it at that for today.
A Take Two signed by FIFA?
Here we are a few months later. The break between EA and FIFA has been officially announced. If the publisher has already confirmed to us that this decision will not have a profound impact on the license (except at the level of the name that changes for EA Sports FC), as for them, the International Federation of Football Association has disclosed that she wanted to develop a new partnership for the next FIFA games. Of course, all eyes immediately turned to Take Two, who not only have the experience but also the means to secure FIFA rights.
Strauss Zelnick used Take Two’s financial results to talk about this topic:
We’re really interested in expanding our opportunities in sport and FIFA is a great brand and influence, but we have no plans to communicate that at this time.
A half-hearted answer that does not invalidate or confirm anything, except that the two actors have not yet started talks. However, by reaffirming its desire to expand its influence in the world of sports gaming, Take Two is not closing the door on an agreement. It remains to be seen what FIFA could offer him and if it’s worth the cost. As a reminder, EA had estimated that the $1 billion FIFA asked for was too much for the small benefit it brought.
Anyhow, we should know more about FIFA’s ambitions very soon. Should a partnership arise between Take Two (or another publisher) and FIFA, the first talks should actually start quickly. To have any hope of releasing a FIFA in 2024 (the year EA’s license becomes EA Sports FC), it’s better not to hesitate too long.
