A new era could be on the way. According to a leak, the FIFA series will become free after FIFA 22. EA Sports could be taking a cue from the competition on how Free2Play titles can be successful.
According to FIFA insiders’ rumours, the upcoming FIFA 22 title will be the last of its kind. To play FIFA 22, you still have to buy the game, but the following games from EA Sports are said to become free.
🚨 The latest RUMOURS #FIFA22
– Monthly Champs rewards coming back
– Pro scene is PS5 only
– FIFA 22 will be the last paid title in the series and will be free to play after 👀
Will confirm anything here if I hear it ✅
— Donk (@DonkTrading) July 14, 2021
Leaker “DonkTrading” announced via Twitter this week that FIFA 22 will be the last paid title in the series. He is considered a reliable source, even if the rumours are still unconfirmed. Accordingly, the information should be taken with a grain of salt.
A change of the payment system would be anything but unthinkable for EA Sports (we reported). After all, games like League of Legends and Fortnite show how strong the market is in terms of cosmetic in-game items. FIFA itself is one of the biggest earners with the FUT mode. In the last financial year, the sales of FIFA Points in FIFA Ultimate Team flushed a large part of the 1.62 billion US dollars into the coffers.
Because there are now also rumours about Free2Play in FIFA competitor PES eFootball, EA Sports would be even more likely to follow suit. Another possibility would be to offer the popular FUT mode for free, while the game with its other modes such as Career and VOLTA still has to be bought as a game package. This principle works for example in Call of Duty and the free Battle Royale Warzone.
