Electronic Arts announced on Tuesday its relationship with FIFA has officially ended after nearly 30 years — hours before the company failed to meet expectations with its latest earnings report.

FIFA decided not to renew its deal with the “Madden” and “FIFA” publisher, which generated $1.75 billion in revenue in fiscal Q4, up from $1.5 billion for the same period last year, but missed analysts’ estimates of $1.78 billion. 

The video game publisher has an even longer road ahead as it ended its partnership with the world’s soccer governing body at the end of this year. FIFA — EA Sports’ largest commercial partner — failed to secure a new licensing deal with the company. 

• FIFA and EA first struck a deal in 1993 that will expire in 2022.
• The franchise has generated more than $20 billion in sales over the past 20 years.
• It will be renamed “EA Sports FC” and will not include the World Cup.

EA failed to meet expectations in fiscal Q4 partly due to the lackluster release of first-person shooter game “Battlefield 2042” on Nov. 19, 2021. The title has received mediocre reviews and garnered “disappointing sales,” according to CEO Andrew Wilson.

Looking For More

Soccer’s governing body is looking to widen its gaming portfolio and increase its asking price. FIFA was looking to secure a deal worth at least double the annual $150 million it has received from EA for rights to gamify the world’s most popular sport.

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