Sure, here you go:
—
Okay, so here’s the thing. Back in ’93, EA got into this kinda wild partnership with FIFA. They whipped up a game for the Sega Genesis—FIFA International Soccer. Why do I remember Sega? No clue. Anyway, this game was a total smash hit, selling over 500k copies in just four weeks. Yep, that’s right. It was the first video game to flaunt FIFA’s logo, and even with high hopes, EA didn’t expect it to blow up this much.
FIFA International Soccer was just the kickoff (pun kinda intended) to what we know today as the massively popular FIFA video game franchise. Fast forward a few decades and boom, 325 million copies sold by 2021. Crazy, right? But then, plot twist—EA and FIFA parted ways in 2022. EA decided to drop the FIFA name for future games. It’s like saying goodbye to an old friend. But hey, who knows, maybe FIFA branding will pop up in other unexpected places, like with Sloclap’s Rematch.
Talking about Rematch, it’s kinda funny. It’s one of the few non-EA soccer games that’s actually doing sorta okay right now. Back in the day, there were oodles of soccer games for consoles, but now? Not so much. Sure, there’s Konami’s PES, but ever heard of eFootball? Yeah, me neither (or maybe you have). It’s not exactly a fan favorite. But here comes Rematch out of nowhere—crafted by those folks at Sloclap, who were more about martial arts games like Absolver and Sifu. A totally different vibe, but people seem to dig it. Already over a million copies sold. People love their soccer.
Oh, and if you’re wondering, it’s on Xbox Game Pass too. So, not like everyone bought it, but still.
Here’s a wild idea: Sloclap teaming up with FIFA for some in-game bling. Like, FIFA-themed outfits or something. Maybe sounds silly? But remember, EA’s FIFA series thrived partly ’cause, well, it’s got “FIFA” slapped on everything. Makes the game feel official, especially in Europe. So, adding FIFA-branded gear might just give Rematch a little extra flair. The real-world soccer collaborations, like the Puma kit and Marc-André ter Stegen skin, say a lot about where Rematch is going. Will it work? Probably. People love that stuff. I mean, when’s the next FIFA game actually coming? No idea. Until then, a Rematch collab might be our closest bet.
