Take-Two’s CEO has ended the publisher’s silence regarding the rumored 2K FIFA game, stating that the development and competition with EA would be a challenging task.
Since the public split between EA and FIFA in 2022, the sporting body has been determined to carry on the FIFA series with a different developer. In the beginning of 2024, speculation arose about 2K taking over the development of a FIFA successor, while EA proceeded with EA Sports FC.
During Take-Two’s Q1 2025 quarterly earnings call, CEO Strauss Zelnick finally acknowledged the rumors, but refrained from confirming or denying them. Instead, he outlined the challenges involved in creating a football simulation game.
“Zelnick emphasized that FIFA’s licenses do not include any accompanying rights, such as players, teams, or leagues.”
Negotiating with the NFL, NBA, or MLB is not as straightforward as it may seem. In these cases, one must negotiate with both the league and a player association, making the process more complex.
FIFA 23 was EA’s last entry in the game franchise
Football stands out from other sports due to its diverse range of national and intercontinental leagues, each with their own governing body and player association. This means that in order to obtain the rights, a publisher would need to negotiate with each league and association separately.
Despite losing its FIFA licenses, EA still maintained agreements with top leagues such as the Premier League, La Liga, the Bundesliga, and UEFA. This allowed EA Sports FC to remain largely unaffected by the loss of FIFA and retain access to some of the most prominent leagues and players.
Zelnick also acknowledged that a large number of football simulation enthusiasts remain devoted to their preferred games, whether it be EA FC or Football Manager.
“We are also aware of the tremendous challenge in creating a top-notch simulation experience for consoles. This process requires a significant amount of time, but when done correctly, it results in a dedicated and deeply engaged user base.”
Despite Zelnick’s acknowledgement that they already have a football simulation game in Top Eleven, the company also boasts a variety of other sports titles including NBA 2K, WWE 2K, and Top Spin 2K.
Zelnick assured that there will be more announcements in the future.
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