It is a well-documented fact that FIFA 23 will be the final entry to the immensely popular FIFA video game series as we’ve come to know it. Electronic Arts and FIFA could not agree on a new licensing deal, which means that if there is going to be a new FIFA game at some stage, it won’t be developed or published by EA. The publishing giant was lightning fast to announce its own successor, dubbed EA Sports FC, the first installment of which will come out in the fall of 2023.
For its part, EA has a lot of questions to answer in the coming months, including what other football-related licenses might slip from its hands. The FIFA-governed World Cup is obviously gone, but everything else is an open question. At the club level, most football fans would probably agree that the UEFA Champions League is the most illustrious of all competitions, though that might change if the Super League eventually materializes.
Once we go past continental competitions and into domestic ones, it is clear which one gathers the most interest. The English Premier League is by far the most commercially successful domestic football product, and its presence in any football simulation video game is an immediate attraction for fans. The burning question is who will win the bidding war for the most popular league in the world.
Will the Premier League be licensed by EA Sports FC?
Update July 21, 4:20am CT: EA and the English Premier League confirm deal to have the Premier League fully licensed in EA FC 24
The negotiations between EA and the EPL resulted in a new multi-year licensing deal that will see the Premier League make its debut in the EA Sports FC video game series when the first game, EA FC 24, launches this fall. This deal comes as little surprise after Manchester City’s superstar striker Erling Haaland was unveiled as the EA FC 24 cover star earlier in July.
The official press release announcing the deal can be read below.
“The Premier League is delighted to announce a new multi-year partnership extension with EA Sports FC as a lead partner and official licensee.
EA Sports has been a lead partner of the Premier League since the 2016/17 season, while the licensing agreement with the League for its popular football video game series goes back to the 1998/99 campaign.
This renewal will see all 20 Premier League clubs—including every club, player, manager, stadium, kit, and more—authentically represented in the new EA Sports FC 24 game, which will be released on Sept. 29.”
The English Premier League will most likely be fully licensed by EA for the inaugural EA Sports FC game. EA loyalists have good reason to be hopeful about this due to an as-of-yet-unconfirmed rumor that a deal might have already been struck between the Premier League governing body and Electronic Arts.
All of this is coming from Sky Sports, a premier British sports coverage medium. In its report, Sky claims that EA “is closing in” on a deal to secure the Premier League’s video game licensing rights for around $588 million. They further go on to report that an unnamed EPL club executive put the annual payments at about $96 million. If we do some quick maths, it appears that this supposed deal would keep the Premier League under EA’s licensing cap for the next six seasons.
Neither EA nor the Premier League has confirmed this so far, but the specifics mentioned in Sky’s report—and the obvious understanding that EA needs to sustain as many major licenses as possible after losing the rights to its own series’ title—make this deal very likely, even if it is not yet formally completed.
