Highlights
- EA is changing the name of the FIFA franchise to EA Sports FC, a move that may indicate future changes for the Madden franchise as well.
- The loss of the FIFA license has raised concerns among fans about potential loss of other licenses, although the NFL license seems secure for now.
- Controversies surrounding Madden's microtransactions and bugs have fueled criticism, potentially leading to a boiling point of discontent and competition in the football gaming market.
Besides Battlefield and The Sims, EA's countless sports titles are probably one of its biggest properties. Every single year, millions of players flock to the latest FIFA or Madden title to experience everything that the new season will bring. While these yearly releases have been extremely controversial, there seems to be no slowing down these massive franchises. At least there did not seem to be, but recent events may suggest otherwise.
EA will likely never stop making sports games as they pull in countless amounts of money. However, that does not mean the franchises will not drastically change over the next couple of years. Already, the studio is shedding the FIFA name in favor of EA Sports FC, and that same thing may happen to Madden one day. While it will likely not happen tomorrow, Madden as players know it may forever change sooner than they realize.
Madden May Follow in FIFA's Footsteps
Last year, FIFA fans were surprised to learn that EA was officially dropping the name from its popular soccer series. The two brands had been working with each other for around 30 years, but they were unable to agree on new terms. Apparently, FIFA wanted $1 billion from EA for its name while the video game studio also wanted to expand its monetization practices within the franchise itself, which FIFA's restrictions did not allow. So, they parted ways, drastically changing the future of EA Sports forever.
While EA will still produce soccer games with everything players have come to expect over the years, it will not be using the FIFA branding anymore. Instead, it is now being called EA Sports FC, and will likely be that for years to come. Because of this, the studio was also forced to delist 10 FIFA titles from digital storefronts, which means that players need to have already owned a copy if they want access to some of these iconic sports titles. Maybe the two brands will be able to come to new terms eventually, but that may not be for a while.
At the same time, EA and the NFL renewed their license agreement last year so that the studio can continue to make Madden games for the next couple of years. However, with the loss of the FIFA license, some fans have begun to question if EA will lose other licenses as well. While it does not seem like it will be losing the NFL license anytime soon, no one really expected it to lose FIFA either, so anything seems to be possible right now.
Madden fans have become increasingly critical of the franchise over the years, and these yearly releases have resulted in a franchise stuck in its ways. It may still make a lot of money thanks to its many microtransactions, however, that does not make it invincible. Over the past couple of years, the franchise has garnered a lot of controversy over its Ultimate Team packs and its buggy nature. Some countries have even tried to classify it as illegal gambling, with countries in the European Union leading the charge. And while nothing will likely change for a while, there is a chance that all of this controversy begins to boil over sometime soon.
For now, EA and the NFL seem to have an excellent working relationship. However, since FIFA seems to have parted ways with the studio, there is a chance the NFL will do that one day too. While the studio will probably still churn out football games, it may not be under the Madden name forever. If anything, EA Sports may eventually not be the only football game developer out there, which could lead to some healthy competition.
Madden NFL 24 is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
