Speculation is currently rife surrounding the potential takeover of the FIFA soccer game moniker by publisher 2K, and a new trademark filed by parent company Take-Two will only heighten expectations for a possible FIFA 25 on PS5 and Xbox.
Having appeared on both the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EU IPO) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), ‘Ball Over Everything’ could very well be the new slogan for the soccer game. Of course, this could be related to another of 2K’s sports game series, or an entirely different IP altogether, but I like FIFA’s odds here.
Though neither filing (good spot, ‘Kurakasis’) features any particularly indicative wordage as to what ‘BallOver Everything’ specifically means – there’s all the usual legal chaff about goods and services – the timing is certainly suspect. Last month, FIFA president Gianni Infantino gave a promising update on the future of the legendary namesake, stating that the new FIFA game will be “the best” soccer game out there – fighting words.
Since then, old rumors of a Take-Two partnership have started circulating, alongside fresh reports that the maker of the likes of NBA 2K24 and WWE 2K24 will be adding FIFA to its extensive sporting catalog. On May 31, ‘FUTZone’ claimed that FIFA 2K25 “will be fully licensed with 35+ leagues and 800+ teams coming.” Though EA has managed to work out deals with individual leagues for its post-divorce EA Sports FC series, it’s going to have some very stiff competition going forward, whoever gets the nod from soccer’s governing body.
FIFA 2K25 wouldn’t be the only soccer-based project for 2K should it materialize. The publisher is expected to release its still-unannounced Lego-based soccer game, Lego 2K Goooal!, at some point this year. Though Kurakasis reported in February that it was planned to drop around Euro 2024, there’s still no sign of life from it.
If Take-Two has secured the FIFA licensing, then I wouldn’t be surprised if whichever studio is working on the Lego game has gone back to the lab to take full advantage of it. Who knows? We could even see a double announcement around Gamescom considering how close it is to when I’d typically expect to see FIFA drop (the end of September). For now, though, we’re still in speculation mode across the board, but where there’s smoke, there’s almost always fire.
You can check out the EU IPO filing here, and the USPTO filing here.
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