EA extends its license with FIFA, the organization behind its lucrative soccer games, until 2022

Yesterday, EA’s financial results revealed that FIFA 2013, its flagship football (soccer) game, has chalked up 13.5 million sales across all platforms since its launch in October. That makes it one of the company’s best launches ever, and it also makes today’s announcement of EA Game’s extension of its licensing agreement with FIFA a very smart move.

The company has locked up its license of the lucrative FIFA series until December 31, 2022 after it extended its agreement with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association.

The game — which shifted 4.5 million copies just five days after its launch — is available for all major consoles, and also for the iOS and Android mobile platforms. For football fans (like yours truly), it is simply the best title out there by some way, having surpassed former fans’ favorite Pro Evolution Soccer, a series from Konami, in recent years.

Commenting on the extension, Andrew Wilson, Executive Vice President and Head of EA Sports, pledged to continue innovating with the FIFA series going forward.

“Our franchise has become the benchmark for quality and innovation in the sports videogame genre, and we look forward to many more years of connecting with consumers around the world with our games carrying the prestigious FIFA name,” Wilson said.

“Our relationship with EA Sports is of high importance to FIFA,” said Jérôme Valcke, FIFA Secretary General. “The FIFA videogames are a key experiential component in our work to communicate the FIFA brand and its values all over the world.”

FIFA says that some 2.5 million gamers took part in this year’s Interactive World Cup, a fact that, it says, owes a lot to the success and visibility of the EA Games series.

Aside from its FIFA license, EA also has agreements with the NHL and NBA, among countless others. There’s little doubt that the global recognition of these franchises has helped it to sell games, but the quality of the titles is also stellar.

Note: As a huge football fan, it pains me to use the term ‘soccer’, but given the popular of American football — also known as ‘football’ — it is necessary in order to avoid confusion.

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