2K is rumoured to have secured the official FIFA license to develop the next FIFA game.
That’s according to unverified claims from retailer @mohplay_inc_, which alleges that “the partnership is confirmed, and 2K will be developing a new football game series”, albeit without sharing their source.
Whilst not confirmed in any official capacity at all – which means we can only take this news has a hefty rumour for now – it does back up prior claims from earlier this year that 2K and FIFA may have been in talks for the former to succeed development of the FIFA series after EA announced it would be taking its football franchise forward without FIFA branding.
Insider Gaming also suggested earlier this year that it was “hearing rumours that FIFA/2K are working to announce a partnership for 2K to make an officially-licensed FIFA game”.
The news has been received with excitement, alarm, and scepticism in equal measure, not least because the leaker claims “FIFA 2K25 is set to launch this year, just in time for the FIFA World Cup 2K26!”, which seems an incredibly quick turnaround.
Others are just delighted at the prospect of EA’s football series having competition beyond Konami’s eFootball franchise, which secured an Avoid in our review when it first released back in 2022.
2K Games has secured the FIFA video game license, according to @mohplay_inc_
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EA’s long-running football series might have jettisoned the FIFA license, but the publisher was keen to let everyone know it’s doing just fine without it, announcing that this year’s iteration, EA Sports FC 24, reached 11.3m players in its first week of release.
That’s compared to the 10.3m players that hopped into last year’s FIFA 23 during the same period – a figure EA referred to as “record-breaking” and the “biggest launch period” in the franchise’s history at the time.
EA Sports FC launched for PlayStation 5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC, and Switch at the end of September, earning itself 3 out of 5 stars in Eurogamer’s EA Sports FC review. “There are improvements, and there are problems, business as usual,” contributor Josh Wise wrote. “The era of EA Sports’ FIFA may be over, but the game goes on.”