FIFA the governing body of world football, and FIFA the football series from EA have long gone hand-in-hand, with many probably only knowing of it as the game. But it appears the governing body and EA are heading for divorce. FIFA are looking to diversify their licensing agreements, while EA are actively discussing renaming the franchise. The game series itself is coming under increasingly heavy criticism for the continued use of loot boxes in the Ultimate Team mode.

Wesley Yin-Poole on Eurogamer has a fantastic interview with EA Chief Experience Officer Chris Bruzzo. It’s an insightful interview and shows that EA will continue to use loot boxes in Ultimate Team as part of the FIFA franchise, but if the franchise was to change name, I wonder whether EA would change their approach and introduce monetisation more akin to a season pass.

While we ponder the future of one football franchise, its worth thinking about the disastrous launch that eFootball has had. The successor to Pro Evo Soccer, this one has gone down like a lead balloon, even if the live service football theory might be one EA follow themselves. Time will tell!

In the meantime, hit the jump for Our Week in Games.

Chris

Valhalla. I can never seem to spell it correctly these days, but the game I delivered a Red Mist to last December is once again back in my life. Having finished Deathloop only recently, I needed something else to while away the evenings with and returning to Eivor’s journey across Viking England was one such way. I’d forgotten how good this game was, much preferring the clear structure of questing here than in Odyssey. My adventure this week took me to Sciropescire and a wonderful hint of Welshness.

I love how each location has a clear story arc, pulling in references and characters from others where required, and Sciropescire is no exception. Some of the story beats might be blindingly obvious, but there’s nothing wrong with that when they still pack an emotional punch. I’m about forty hours into the game and it feels like I’ve got plenty more time to inveset to complete the main story arc, and that’s before I start thinking about the Irish and Parisian DLC. I’ll keep working my way through, and look forward to enjoying every moment of it.

(Yes, I’m using a header image from FIFA 13 as after all…the games haven’t changed much since then have they?).