We have a surprising new rumor about FIFA from an unexpected source.
A few days ago, video game retailer Mohplay shared this tweet:
“2K has secured the official license from FIFA to create the next FIFA video game!
The partnership is confirmed, and 2K will be developing a new football game series.
FIFA 2K25 is set to launch this year, just in time for the FIFA World Cup 2K26!
Get ready for FIFA 2K25!”
Neither FIFA, 2K Games, or Take Two Interactive have confirmed or reacted to this rumor for now.
As a quick review, as far back as 2021, EA talked about dropping the FIFA franchise for their association football game series after the end of their last licensing deal. FIFA wanted $ 1 billion for the franchise rights, and EA balked.
Two years later, EA announced the next game as EA Sports FC 24. They were also able to bring together several football teams and associations to all be added in the game, included women’s football leagues as well. EA Sports FC 24 would go on to become a giant multiplatform release, and even herald the franchise’s return to Nintendo platforms.
If this rumor is true, it means that 2K Games was willing to play ball with FIFA. We don’t really know anything about this deal, that may or may not have happened, so we can’t tell if they really did pay up $ 1 billion for the rights.
But could it be worth it for 2K Games? As crazy as it sounds, they really might make that money back. The reason EA put up with FIFA for so long was the franchise was a guaranteed money maker, of course, as the biggest association football in the world.
EA, of course, has also amply demonstrated that they have built such a strong brand that they didn’t need to keep the FIFA franchise anymore. But now the window has opened for other companies to swoop in, and now their biggest potential rival has taken the challenge.
For fans who do remember all the way back, this is a potential rekindling of a rivalry that dates back to the Sega Dreamcast years. Sega acquired developer Visual Concepts to make sports game to appeal to US gamers for the fabled console. In 1999 and 2000, the console received the first NBA 2K, NHL 2K, and NFL 2K games.
Sega sold the studio to Take Two Interactive in 2004, and 2K would go on to become the publisher’s signature branding. Through the years, EA and Visual Concepts/2K would compete in making sports games, with NBA 2K eventually winning out over EA’s attempts to utilize the NBA license.
Should EA be worried? Maybe, but they probably also already knew that this could happen. This will now become a race on whether EA can hold their lead, or if FIFA and 2K can rapidly catch up to compete in the market. It’s all very exciting to thing about, assuming this rumor is true.
