Ever since Electronic Arts dropped the licensed FIFA name and continued the series under the name “EA Sports FC”, there has been speculation about a potential new FIFA-branded game developer.
One of the most mentioned candidates is 2K Sports, owned by Take-Two. Can we expect FIFA 2K25? Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two, commented on the speculation.
Zelnick stressed that the FIFA license itself “does not carry rights or attract players, teams or leagues.” Unlike negotiations with the NFL, NBA or MLB, where it is enough to reach an agreement with the league and the players’ association, in the case of soccer it is more complicated.
Take-Two’s CEO noted the difficulties involved in creating a new soccer simulator: “We realize that it’s very difficult to create a great simulation for consoles, it takes a lot of time, but if you do it right, users will be very loyal and ‘integrated’.”
Zelnick noted that Take-Two already has a presence in the soccer industry thanks to its mobile game Top Eleven, which he described as “the first soccer management title on mobile.” He also mentioned the publisher’s other successful sports games such as NBA 2K and WWE 2K.
“From our perspective, we have a great portfolio of sports… I’m sure we’ll announce more in due course,” Zelnick concluded, leaving the door open for potential future projects.
Although Take-Two’s president has not confirmed work on FIFA 2K25, his statement suggests that the company is considering various possibilities in the sports gaming space, including a potential rival to EA Sports FC, but it may be too early for that.
“Prone to fits of apathy. Introvert. Award-winning internet evangelist. Extreme beer expert.”
