Why free-to-play makes sense for FIFA and other EA Sports games

FIFA 22 -- the latest entry in EA Sports’ line of soccer sims (or football, for our international friends) -- will release Friday at a price point of $60 or $70, depending on the platform.

That’s approximately $60-$70 more than FIFA 23 will cost in 2022, according to a report.

In July, FIFA leaker Donk tweeted next year’s iteration of the long-running franchise will be the first free-to-play title in the series, which, if true, would also make it the first free-to-play AAA sports title -- and a potential watershed moment for esports and gaming.

After all, If FIFA goes free-to-play, why not every EA Sports title or game from its direct competitors?

It’s worth noting that, officially, EA has yet to confirm a free-to-play model will be brought to FIFA or any of its other franchises, so while the news is coming from a reliable source, it’s still firmly in the rumor camp.

That being said, it actually makes a ton of sense that this would be the direction things are heading.

Expanding the user base

The annual release nature of sports games has become limiting. Right or wrong, players increasingly view new editions as “glorified roster updates” and, unless you’re a big fan, you’re less likely to invest in the product on a yearly basis. Given how competitive even the casual multiplayer scene is nowadays, once you’re not on that yearly plan, you’re less likely to jump back in.

Making the core game free-to-play, however, could be a way to welcome players back to franchises they had given up on for one reason or another. And that’s no small thing because ...

Microtransactions!

It’s no secret microtransactions are a major part of the experience in many of EA Sports’ titles, particularly in the pro scene. If you want to compete, you don’t put your wallet away after you plunk down the initial $60-$70. You’re spending even more to build up your Ultimate Team.

Here’s the thing: Those folks are gonna throw money at their Ultimate Teams regardless, and might dump even more into it if they don’t have to pay the sticker price on the game. But if EA successfully expands the user base for a game, now people who otherwise probably weren’t going to spend a dime might find themselves wrapped up in it. Now, the company is netting roughly the same cash flow from the hardcore players, plus whatever new and casual fans start pumping in.

Franchise mode sold separately

If you still think the idea of making a title as huge as Madden free-to-play is crazy, consider this -- there are plenty of people out there willing to pay for just a franchise mode.

This isn’t even an entirely new concept for EA Sports, which on two occasions in the 2000s released its NFL Head Coach series, games that were based entirely around running a team rather than simulating the action on the gridiron. Granted, those were massive hits by any stretch of the imagination, but they were also sold separately from Madden. The thought that the core game is free, but players will pay for franchise and story mode access is not outlandish, especially if the devs are actually innovating those features from year to year.

Crush the competition

What if EA Sports wanted to revive its NBA Live franchise, one of the few if only titles in its library that faces any real competition in the NBA 2K series. Every few years, EA releases its basketball game, it gets trounced in quality and sales, then it’s (rightly) shelved again.

But what if NBA Live were free-to-play? Sure, NBA 2K might be the better experience -- but why would casual players shell out $60-$70 when they could pay nothing and still have some semblance of a good time? It’s an easy way to reintroduce a title that otherwise might have trouble gaining traction with gamers with the added bonus of undercutting its top competitor.

Grow new revenue streams

Although FIFA and Madden and to a lesser extent NHL have built-in audiences, EA might have trouble marketing some sports to wider audiences. But does that mean they’re not fun, or that large numbers of people aren’t necessarily willing to pay for them?

Imagine a free-to-play return of Fight Night, EA Sports’ boxing sim, or the company’s short-lived Rugby franchise, or even an all-new property such as Lacrosse, which there’s actually an underground push for. Any of these might enjoy some success if there’s no up-front cost to play. Of course, once microtransactions enter the equation, they’re not really free anymore, but that’s sort of the point here.

Impact of subscription services

When you stop and think about it, some portion of gamers are already paying less to pay for these titles anyway. If you’re a sports fan or enjoy any of EA’s other properties and prefer to play on your PC, you might subscribe to EA Play Pro, which for a monthly or annual fee gives the player access to all of the company’s latest hits. And while Pro is currently not available for PlayStation or Xbox, that seems like a detail that could change at any point.

If a healthy portion of EA’s audience isn’t paying retail for their games anyway, what is the logical next step?

The model is already working

As we all know, the free-to-play model is not new. Just look at two of the biggest esports in the world: League of Legends and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Just about every shooter of any multiplayer of significance these days has some free version out there. Yet, those developers are clearly managing to monetize their games in other ways, otherwise you wouldn’t see Halo Infinite preparing to launch with a pay-for-campaign and free-to-play multiplayer.

Between microtransactions, the potential to sell franchise and story modes separate, and esports as potential revenue streams, there’s no reason free-to-play sports titles couldn’t be just as big of money-makers as they are now, if not much bigger.

More esports implications

Whether directly or indirectly, almost every one of the points made here has some impact on esports.

If more people are playing EA Sports titles, the potential pool of pro competitors is larger, and there’s a higher level of interest in following and watching the pro scenes, which are not garnering near the attention of the top esports right now. And if EA Sports comes to dominate the competitive scene in just about any sports game imaginable, there’s no telling what that network looks like as esports only continue to rise in popularity.

Free-to-play sports titles could be the future for the industry, and a title like FIFA that has international popularity would be a tremendous way to test the theory. I don’t even watch soccer, but I always liked the series and would probably check it out, and I’d certainly get involved with the sports franchises I abandoned through the years for one reason or another in a second when it’s not costing me anything.

The idea seems like a win for everybody -- good for gamers, good for developers and good for an underdeveloped esports scene that has plenty of promise.

Lead photo credit: EA