It’s been a couple of months since Electronic Arts (EA) released EA FC 2024. And now, reports have it that the developer may be working on another soccer-based title similar to the recent game.
Earlier, EA was responsible for the FIFA franchise of the game. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is the international governing body for association football, beach soccer, and futsal across the globe.
As part of EA’s partnership with FIFA, EA had the rights to develop and publish games with the name FIFA. The FIFA franchise of games, which has been running since 1993, has been one of the most celebrated and iconic sports game series that the world has ever witnessed. It is even recorded in Guinness World Records as the best-selling sports video game franchise in the world.
However, on 10 May 2022, EA and FIFA announced that their partnership of 30 years was coming to an end. FIFA was demanding at least double the $150 million it received annually from EA Sports as part of the partnership. After months of unfruitful negotiations, the contract was not renewed, and the licensing agreement was terminated. Thus, FIFA 23 became the last entry to the franchise under the FIFA name.
As a successor to the FIFA series, EA released its next installment but with a different name, giving birth to the EA Sports FC franchise. EA Sports FC 24, released on September 22, 2023, became the first installment under the new name.
Is EA planning a new soccer game?
Electronic Arts is reportedly planning on releasing a soccer-themed game that will be based on digital cards. It will be based on a new patent. Generally, games based on digital cards are not something entirely new for EA. However, this new game could possibly change things up.
EA’s popular sports franchises, including NHL, FIFA, and Madden NFL, all feature relevant player rosters for the year they’re based on, represented by digital cards. Players can acquire these cards through various packs that assign a player a rank majorly based on their scores and standing in football, hockey, and soccer.
EA recently filed a patent for a soccer-themed mobile digital card game. In this game, users will be able to draw cards having top-tier players from around the world. These players will compete on a playing field that is similar to a soccer pitch. One player will be pitted against another, and the entire team will be controlled from a deck that can be customized.
Based on the cards that the users utilize, their team will advance further toward the opponent’s net. The probability of a team to score increases based on the value of the cards. Some combinations also have a 100% chance. The new game will feature different cards known as the athlete’s cards, action cards, and effect cards.
The digital cards will be used in a ‘battle’ as EA notes in the patent. This could mean that the match may differ from a standard soccer game. The brand-new EA mobile game will make use of a type of skill-based matchmaking system wherein players may be matched up with CPUs.
Since EA Ultimate Team modes use card packs and different rarities, it is possible that this new game, too could potentially use similar mechanics. It is to be noted that the patent doesn’t mention how these cards will be acquired. However, it does suggest that there may be some similarities with other mobile card games.