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A Product Manager’s Perspective: What can we expect from FIFA 20

This article does not talk what the fundamentals of what EA's FIFA franchise is, but rather focuses on what can be reasonably expected from upcoming FIFA 20 based on the current market trends as well as historical evolution of this franchise

Rajeev Varma, Blogger

March 26, 2019

3 Min Read
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This article is a re-post of the original text on my personal blog

Well, no one in video games industry needs introduction about Electronic Arts (EA) or its crown jewel FIFA Franchise.

Having spent a major part of my professional career in this industry, keeping track of market trends and anticipating key changes has always been a part & parcel of my role as well as one of the self-induced hobbies I have.

Here are some of the key things which we can expect in the upcoming release FIFA 20. Don’t forget to take these with a huge grain of salt and also, these are my personal opinions ;)

Prediction #1: More Game Modes

  • With shorter duration comprising of intense gameplay

  • Ensures less dependency on FUT mode

Prediction #2: Introducing “Royale”

  • Current offerings in FIFA 19 (Survival, First To, No Rules game modes) indicate a plausible evidence on why the Sports leader who always strive to be more realistic with each passing release could come up with its own “Battle Royale” version

  • Recent tease of Battlefield V on adopting “Battle Royale” confirms EA’s interest to join the band wagon and make advantage of the market trend, while it’s still hot

  • Users are more interested in entering the realms of “fictitious” spaces and Sports genre could be no exception either; Time will only tell!

Prediction #3: Female Centric FIFA

  • Sports games (in which EA FIFA is a leader) are majorly “male” oriented (~85% of user base) which means there is a huge window of opportunity for EA to re-focus its efforts to make FIFA 20 more appealing towards potential “female” audience

  • FIFA 16 introduced female atheletes to the football world in video games; It’s been a while since any major improvement has been done post that

  • Even if this isn’t fulfilled in FIFA 20, subsequent releases could cater in this area (remember the grain of salt I was talking about :| )

Prediction #4: Sales & Full Digital Baptism

  • It is arguable whether FIFA 19 has lived/surpassed the potential of FIFA 18 as a significant portion of fan base has got love-hate relationship with this franchise among other things

  • Based on historical sale trends and the current market volatile nature, I’d say the range of sales could be around 25 Mil (worst-case scenario) to 35+ Mil (with heavy boost from Marketing and anticipated success from Apex Legends)

  • Going fully digital with FIFA 20? I doubt so, as EA’s Origin is yet to reach full potential and this move might not be taken lightly, especially from APAC customers

So, that’s all for now. Have a great week ahead and remember to stay Happy :)

Next Covered Topics: “Has EA’s FIFA Mobile reached its full potential yet?”

P.S. For those who’d like to discuss more, feel free to add/follow me. Here’s my LinkedIn profile: Rajeev Varma

Personal Blog: NVDRajeev.wordpress.com

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