As I write this, nothing is officially confirmed, but there are rumors picking up some real steam that 2K are going to get the FIFA license! I have been playing FIFA games since the days of the Super Nintendo and I tend to buy every new release. However, EA Sports FC was the first time that I went back to a previous game! The career mode was so bad that I ended up jumping back into FIFA 23!
To be honest with you, FIFA trying to get another company to make games with their branding is not all that surprising. Selling millions of copies each year, FIFA were making a lot of money from the games that had their branding, EA deciding not to renew the contract must have been a big blow. In addition to this, we know that 2K are already developing a football game engine as it was revealed that they are making a LEGO Football game. Granted, it is doubtful that their LEGO Football and FIFA 2K games would be the same, but it does show that there is something there.
Despite being a long time fan of the FIFA series, I think that this is a very good move. I was never a huge Pro Evolution Soccer fan. Even during the PlayStation 2 days, I preferred the FIFA games. However, the fact that the Pro Evolution Soccer games sold well and were usually more critically acclaimed resulted in EA stepping up their game and making FIFA so much better. I will admit that the last few FIFA games, I think you could even go back to FIFA 19 to be honest have all had a very similar feel to them as far as the gameplay goes.
Being someone who is not into the Ultimate Team stuff and who just plays Career Mode (or Manager Mode if you prefer), EA has completely ignored this mode for years! This year with EA Sports FC24, it was like they tried to bolt a bunch of stuff onto their gaining engine and it pretty much broke the game with near impossible objectives and it being so easy to get the sack and your team very rarely being happy. It may sound harsh, but I would go as far as to say that Career Mode in EA Sports FC24 is flat out broken! It is the reason I went back to FIFA 23 which was not perfect, but it at least worked better than what we got recently.
I do not expect FIFA 2K to nail it in their first attempt, but competition is a good thing and I am very interested to see how this pushes those at EA. They thrived under the pressure of Pro Evolution Soccer and I would love to see if they could do it again if 2K does indeed get the license. Speaking of licenses, that is one area that has people concerned, will a FIFA 2K game be able to secure all the licenses? I for one am not too worried about this as I am sure the community will be able to step up and if it is like the NBA 2K games, downloading and using stuff other people have created should not be too much hassle at all. Sticking with the NBA 2K series, I know that many people hate the micro transactions that series now has with some people saying that it is flat out “pay to win” that does make me wonder if 2K would go that same route with their FIFA game.
As I said, as of me writing this, FIFA 2K is still just a rumor, but I for one would love to see it. Let me know what your thoughts are on 2K potentially securing the FIFA license. Do you think they will be able to make a good football game? Do you think that the competition will drive EA to make a better game? Sound off in the comments section down below.