The acrimonious split between FIFA and EA Sports was always going to have a seismic impact on the football gaming market and such is the crossover between the football and the esports version of the game, that both parties have been under plenty of scrutiny.
Change is never easy to quantify, especially for gamers accustomed to the quirks of a particular release, but the split between FIFA and EA Sports felt uniquely significant.
Football and esports football have become intrinsically linked, with players signing for their relevant teams and the Premier League replicating its multi million pound product on the pitch, in a video game format.
This has been attempted to be replicated too, with plenty of sports betting sides seeking out ways and means of combining both the actual sport and the virtual version, in a palatable betting environment.
Many football and horse racing betting sites have seen the impact that linking the real with the virtual can have, and the market appeal continues to grow.
So, when FIFA and EA Sports announced their decision to part ways from FIFA 23 onwards, there was a sense of natural trepidation amongst some gamers, about how the future of the world’s most successful sports video game would look.
Now in its second year, EA Sports FC – FC for short – has won over rookie and advanced gamers alike, and its market appeal shows no sign of slowing as we move into 2025.
Gameplay Geniuses
The days of Pro Evolution Soccer back in the early 2000s still hold a certain nostalgia with plenty of football and sports gamers.
With a mishmash of team and player naming rights, it was the football game that should never have worked; however, Pro Evo (as it was affectionately known) held one thing over FIFA during that period – better gameplay.
Ultimately, the players on the pitch are virtual, so their spellings or graphical representations aren’t the most important thing to the gamer.
What is, however, is that the game plays as accurately as the real sport of football. Enabling all gamers to experience the thrill of a late winner or a crunching tackle in the cut and thrust of a game-playing environment.
That essence has been kept by EA Sports ever since they took the mantle back from Pro Evolution Soccer, and it is that which continues to bring players back to the game, season in, season out.
Big Name Branding
Real Madrid stormed to yet another Champions League title in 2024, and one of their key men was young English superstar Jude Bellingham.
The Birmingham-born Bellingham has become one of the most recognizable stars of world football over the last 12 months, and having him as the face of FC25 appears to have been an inspired move by EA Sports as they aim to maintain their appeal.
Similarly, EA Sports have broken ground in recent times, with the introduction of women’s teams and leagues on their games and all gamers can now enjoy representing their favourite team or emulating their heroes on FC25.
Breaking away from FIFA was never going to be easy, with the over-arching governing arm of world football endorsing EA Sports’ product for over 30 years.
However, EA Sports FC25 continues to keep the key values of football gaming alive and with such incredible gameplay, graphics and features, it remains the leading football game worldwide and to that note, the most popular sports video game release of the year too.
