Soccer games: FIFA signs first contract with Konami

Old rivals are looking to join forces: the world soccer association FIFA and the Japanese games company Konami have signed an e-sports agreement. The upcoming FIFAe World Cup will be played in Konami's Free2Play soccer simulation "eFootball", the two contractual partners announced.

"We are delighted to join forces with Konami," said FIFA Manager Romy Gai. "This collaboration fits perfectly with our mission to promote soccer worldwide and provide players with a platform to showcase their skills." Konami speaks of a "new dimension" in e-sports promotion of "eFootball".

The deal is particularly interesting because FIFA, together with Electronic Arts, once pushed Konami's "Pro Evolution Soccer" series off the market. For decades, the name "FIFA" was closely associated with EA's soccer game series of the same name in the video game space. Since 2023, however, EA's soccer games have been called "EA Sports FC" – The US publisher no longer wanted to renew its contract with FIFA. One of the reasons given by EA at the time was the prospect of more development freedom, which FIFA had restricted as a contractual partner for soccer games. The new platform, which is independent of FIFA, offers more opportunities for innovation.

FIFA is looking for a new development partner

Since then, FIFA has been looking for a new partner for video game development. FIFA President Gianni Infantino has repeatedly said that a new game with the name "FIFA" must be developed, which will of course be the best soccer simulation.

The partnership with Konami does not go that far, as it is only limited to the staging of an e-sports tournament. This does not mean that Konami is now working on "FIFA" games. Instead, the agreement between Konami and FIFA should be seen as a small interim step – or as an admission on the part of FIFA that it may not be able to fulfill the promise of a completely new "FIFA" game so quickly.

Real competition only with licenses

In fact, the number of game companies that could create such a game is negligible. Konami itself has experience with soccer games and the technical basis, but has long since scrapped its "Pro Evolution Soccer" series in favor of the meager Free2Play game "eFootball". "eFootball" has only a few game modes, and Konami lacks the budget for a license duel with EA. FIFA itself would only have a few licenses.

Fans are therefore pinning their hopes on 2K Games, the only games company that also specializes in sports games. However, 2K boss Strauss Zelnick recently dampened expectations somewhat when he rightly pointed out in an investor meeting that a new soccer video game would have to overcome several hurdles –, first and foremost the complicated licensing situation. However, he did not completely rule out a "FIFA" game from 2K.

(dahe)