Take-Two’s CEO has broken the publisher’s silence on a rumored 2K FIFA game, saying it would be “incredibly difficult” to develop it and compete with EA. Ever since EA and FIFA’s public breakaway in 2022, the sporting body has made it clear it intends to continue the FIFA series with a new developer. In early , while EA continued forward with .
In Take-Two’s Q1 2025 , CEO Strauss Zelnick finally addressed the rumors but did not deny or confirm them, instead laying out the complications of developing a football sim. “I would just note that FIFA’s licenses does not bring along with it rights. It does not come with players, teams, or leagues,” Zelnick said.
“So it’s not as simple, for example, negotiating with the NFL, or the NBA, or the MLB, where at most you have to negotiate with the League and a play association.” In comparison to other sports, football is made up of many different national and intercontinental leagues, each with its own governing body and player association a publisher would need to negotiate with to get their rights. This is why, despite EA losing its FIFA licenses, they still had agreements with the likes of the Premier League, La Liga, the Bundesliga, and UEFA, which meant EA Sports FC remained largely unphased by the loss of FIFA and still retained many of the biggest leagues and players.
Zelnick also noted that many football sim fans are loyal to their games, whether it’s EA FC or Football Manager. “We’re also very mindful.