Over a year ago, EA announced that its longstanding license agreement with football’s global governing body FIFA would be allowed to lapse, ending a run of 39 EA Sports releases bearing the name. One of the biggest franchises in gaming, certainly the biggest in sports gaming, fundamentally changing its branding. It felt like a big moment that would change forever one of the most anticipated of upcoming games of every year.
And it coincided with accumulating fatigue and frustration among the fanbase. FIFA’s annualized releases offered so little in the way of forward progress or meaningful additions for so long, that observation itself has become a cliche. Think about that: people have been saying FIFA is the same every year for so many years, and now the statement no longer even registers.
