Rumour: 2K Secures License To FIFA And Will Develop The Next Game – Nintendo Life

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Challenger approaching
Publisher 2K is currently rumoured to have secured the official FIFA license and will be developing the next game, likely titled FIFA 2K25.
This comes via retailer MohPlay Inc. on X (thanks, Eurogamer), who posted an unverified claim that the partnership between 2K and FIFA is “confirmed” with a new game set to launch this year.
What’s particularly iffy about this rumour, however, is the seemingly rapid turnaround on the game’s development. If a new FIFA game is launching this year as claimed, one can only assume that 2K had assigned a studio (likely Visual Concepts) to begin work on a football game while it was negotiating with FIFA.
To back up MohPlay Inc.’s post, however, Insider Gaming’s Mike Straw has also stated that “we could be getting an announcement” soon, citing that nobody was willing to talk on record about the potential new partnership.
If it’s all true, it’s an exciting notion that 2K could soon provide a legitimate challenge to EA’s monopoly in the world of interactive football. Ever since Konami ditched the ‘Pro Evolution Soccer’ branding from its own franchise, EA has undoubtedly dominated, with EA Sports FC 24 frequently topping the UK charts.
UK Charts: The Usual Suspects Pad Out A Quiet Week Ahead Of Paper Mario
Oh, hello EA Sports FC 24
Would you like to see 2K shepherd the FIFA license in the coming years? Do you think it could provide a legitimate challenge to EA? Let us know with a comment.
[source x.com, via eurogamer.net]
About Ollie Reynolds

Nintendo Life’s resident horror fanatic, when he’s not knee-deep in Resident Evil and Silent Hill lore, Ollie likes to dive into a good horror book while nursing a lovely cup of tea. He also enjoys long walks and listens to everything from TOOL to Chuck Berry.
Comments 39

Yay!!! More micro transactions!

Wait… are the FIFA games trying to change to not be awful anymore?? But it’s so entertaining to see 2/10 NintendoLife review scores and 3/10 user average metacritic scores.
But more seriously, I think lots of people enjoy the series, so I hope this change causes some improvements. Although NBA2K24 also had fairly bad reviews so good luck to the next FIFA game I guess.

The worst things I have ever seen.
EVER.
The worst sport that handled by two greedy Western companies : EA and 2K.
Let’s check their notorious records.
1. Copy paste games
2. Micro transactions
3. Advertising in games
4. Broken games
5. Lame sport choices

1993-1997 FIFA by Extended Play Productions
1997-2022 FIFA by EA Vancouver / EA Romania
2024- FIFA by 2K Games
So now there will be two “FIFAs”.
The old FIFA that no longer bears the FIFA name: EA Sports FC
And the new FIFA: FIFA 2K
Is the town big enough for both?

So, EA could not afford the FIFA license, but 2K can? I find that a little surprising. I wonder if there was more than cost behind the EA exit?
EDIT: Looks like I don’t know what I’m talking about, actually! So, er, just ignore this. 🤭

I'm sorry but I can't help but laugh out loud at this at EA's expense LMAO.
In any case, no skin off my back personally since I barely play any official sports games to begin with. FIFA is about the extent I ever did play and that's been ages ago by now.

Will take 2K years to get a game engine as good as what EA has (on Playstation/Xbox), plus all the mechanics, facial likeness and team/player licensing EA already has. So for the forseeable future EA Sports FC is still going to be number one whilst 2K catches up, if they can.

So… the Fifa license goes from a bad company to an even worse company?
@UltimateOtaku91 I am guessing 2K will also take the team/player licenses.

@Ooyah, EA didn't want to pay for the name anymore and I totally get that. It's only about the name on the cover and all licenses within the game are not affected. Given the absurd amount that FIFA apparently wanted for the license, it would have been stupid for EA to keep throwing money after them as their games sell anyway (as can be seen).

Eurgh this is a shame. I had my fingers crossed for anybody BUT 2K… but they were always a high probability of course.
I mean, it’s good to have competition, but EA and 2K are not going to make the football game I want. The algorithms that created some degree of wonder 10 years ago are just boring now.
The millions of copies they sell – do people really believe they are controlling it all?! “Ohh I hit the post.” Yes… you made it hit the post… you have such control in the game, you can actually make the ball hit the post.
Utter nonsense. The game is just a bunch of algorithms – it was OK ten years ago, but no innovation since has just made it the worst game ever made. People still buy it! Frustrating!

what would pique my interest personally is a game centered around English Football where you form a new Club and work your way up to Premier League, drafting and trading players as you go.
I’m a casual fan, and I barely know what FIFA even is / don’t care at all.
*My bad if I sound ignorant, I love the game but I don’t completely understand the eccentricities of the League system. Though I do find it all very interesting to learn about over time. 👍

@sanderev I don’t know how it works as Pro Evo has some licensed teams and players that EA don’t have access to. I think all FIFA had was it’s name and the license to the World Cup branding. EA still had to go to individual competition ruling bodies (like the premier league) to get the licensing for teams, kits, stadiums, players etc.

@Ooyah You had to realize that 2K is owned by Take-Two Interactive, a larger entity than EA.

Totally never could have seen this coming.
Realistically speaking who else could've possibly picked up the licence?

Hardest of passes.
And I can’t see both coexisting. If Konami decides to re-enter the race with PES on consoles, then that’s no less than three annual football games (four if you count Sega’s Football Manager, of which the last two instalments have had physical releases in Asia). Like the war between Betamax and VHS in the 80s (or HD DVD and Blu-ray in the mid 2000s), something’s got to give.
As clumsily as EA have handled the games on Switch, full credit to them for releasing 18-23 with the full games on cartridges. I’ve refused to buy 24 due to the 20GB download requirement, but there is at least something playable on the cartridge without the download, which is more than I can say of 2K’s releases.
Frankly, I’d rather have had even more Legacy Editions with the most up-to-date rosters etc. over incomplete physical releases, and unless these stingy publishers cough up for higher capacity cartridges, I’ll continue to skip annual football games in the foreseeable future.

So EA wanted more money by not paying FIFA, and FIFA wanted more money from EA for the license. Now there will be two games in competition with each other which will split the customer base and each will give half as much money to EA and FIFA than before.
Genius business strategy there.

Now we're gonna have some soccer in my casino, not just basketball.

@Ryu_Niiyama and @dres
Remember this? Well looky here…it's coming up to "about 2 years."
"It will be interesting to see In two years time if I'm right and EA doesn't have the most popular footy game, then you have to change your avatar to AiAi for a month and I'll go with Alex Kidd ofc haha " – 2022
Sometimes I'm so far in front, I fall asleep.

Whatever. Give us a reboot of FIFA Street the children yearn for an arcadey football game

Look, more microtransactions.. Yay…

@Ooyah EA chose to not renew the license with FIFA. They claimed it was because FIFA was "limiting" the development of the games, supposedly putting barriers on what EA wanted to do with the franchise.

@larryisaman EA Sports FC 24 already has Volta, which is basically FIFA Street, it was what I played the most on that game, when it was available as a free trial for NSO users.

30 years of technological progress to watch some mans chase a ball around.

It say FIFA on game box? I buy game. Drooooool

@-wc- “what would pique my interest personally is a game centered around English Football where you form a new Club and work your way up to Premier League, drafting and trading players as you go.”
You can literally do that in EAFC 24. Create a club with your own uniquely designed kits, choose a stadium from one already in the game with a few editable options and transfer players each season. Start from League two (fourth division) and work your way up. It’s not quite as customisable as I’d like but it’s in there.

Holy crappy character models, Batman!

2k is basically the new EA.

@GrailUK will be interesting to see the sales numbers when fifa2k5 comes out.

I mean hey, competition is good.
EA can't get lazy with their Footie games if someone else is making a football game with the same scope and budget.

@Lofoten It’s Harvest Moon all over again (but the cows are even rounder).

↓

Of course FIFA, the world's most evil sports organization, went with the only publisher more evil than EA

@Jalex_64
thanks! i should've known, but I've been so chronically uncurious about licensed sports games my whole life!
i started watching premier League games at lunch at work and now I'm suddenly interested! go figure 😅 maybe I'll check it out!

@tseliot
Nice f#$@ing model!

@Ryu_Niiyama Will football fans follow the brand or the game. (My money is on the former lol.)

@GrailUK Agreed. Personally I only care about who has women’s teams. EA got me by putting Mia Hamm in FC 24. But it will be good to have competition. EA has been the only game in town for too long. But a lot of people are just gonna see FIFA and think that’s it.

2k and EA can join hands as they jump off a cliff together.

people so easily blame sports game developers. but it's not easy to make. its so high technology. unknown developers can make wellmade FPS game. but Sports Game is not. it has high level physics and P2P online balance. game community, full of dumbs.

Part of the pitch/negotiation could have been proof of concept, which would lead to a to seemingly quicker development time.

I wonder how much corrupt FIFA will make from this.
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Game Profile
Title:
EA Sports FC 24
System:
Nintendo Switch
Also Available For:
PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S
Publisher:
Electronic Arts
Developer:
EA
Genre:
Simulation, Sports
Players:
4 (22 Online)
Release Date:
Nintendo Switch
Series:
EA Sports FC
Reviews:
Review: EA Sports FC 24 (Switch) – The Best Football Game On Any Nintendo System, Finally
Official Site:
nintendo.com
Where to buy: