Rumor mill: The Fédération Internationale De Football Association (FIFA) may have finally found a producer to continue its triple-A football video gaming legacy. Gaming retailer MohPlay claims 2K Games has penned a licensing deal with the international football organization and is releasing a title this year.
The potential for a new FIFA title before the year’s end is exciting for fans who haven’t seen a FIFA game since September 2022. MohPlay stated that FIFA 2K25 will launch later this year as the world prepares for the epic 48-club, 104-match FIFA World Cup 26 starting on June 11, 2026.
Of course, take the claim with the recommended dosage of salt. While MohPlay had an official-looking new logo (below), neither 2K Games nor FIFA have announced a partnership or game. The retailer could be making the whole thing up for publicity, but that’s a pretty risky gamble. However, a stroll through its X feed shows the company is boldly self-promotional.
If it’s not a hoax, we could expect to hear official confirmation any day now since we are nearly halfway through the year.
2K has secured the official license from FIFA to create the next FIFA video game!
The partnership is confirmed, and 2K will be developing a new football game series.
�’�⨠FIFA 2K25 is set to launch this year, just in time for the FIFA World Cup 2K26!
Get ready for FIFA 2K25!… pic.twitter.com/3jsu2XQu2a
– MohPlay Incð®ð® (@mohplay_inc_) May 24, 2024
It has been just over two years since EA parted ways with FIFA. The split arose from a disagreement as to the value of the FIFA brand – essentially, EA refused to pay higher licensing fees going into the 2022 World Cup. The publisher didn’t leave FIFA fans in the lurch as it wasted no time announcing and developing the generically named EA Sports FC (Football Club) series.
Meanwhile, FIFA suffered a licensing identity crisis, seemingly unsure what to do without EA publishing its yearly video game installment. Upon the breakup, FIFA announced several questionable licensing deals with developers few have ever heard of to make “future-focused Web 3.0 games” that nobody wanted to play. Here are some examples:
- AI League by Altered States Machine – A 4×4 “casual” football game where AI controlled the characters and players made management/coaching decisions at “fun and tactical moments.”
- FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in the Upland Metaverse by Upland – A blockchain-based metaverse, mapped to the real world, in which players could buy and sell virtual properties.
- FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 by Phygtl – A mobile app offering fans an “immersive experience” that has them working together to create a fan-generated digital reward.
To be fair, these “experiences’ were designed solely for fans watching or attending the 2022 World Cup and not necessarily for the fans of EA’s franchise. Regardless of the success or failure of these joint ventures, none encapsulated what EA FIFA fans have been missing since FIFA 23. Now, there’s hope that 2K might fill that void.
