EA Retains Exclusive NFL rights til 2026

CriticalGaming

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So if you are a sports gaming fan, you'll know that EA has basically been phoning it in with the Madden and FIFA games for the past few years. Each year we get less features and increasingly unblanced gameplay all the while being dealt more and more loot boxes and ultimate team style garbage.

Late last year we knew that the NFL exclusivity liscence with EA was coming to a close, and at around the same time we learned that 2K was making an NFL game. Now if you aren't aware NFL2k games were fucking awesome, so this news was really really exciting for people who have been hoping that series would come back once EA lost exclusivity.

Welp it turns out that EA was able to renew the deal for another 5-6 years. This deal is only for simulation style games, so arcadey games, mobile games, etc can still be made by anyone. But basically this puts a nail in the coffin of seeing the NFL2k series comeback.

Now EA is free to continue to make mediocre barely functional trash Madden games, all the while milking every dime from people who don't know any better in ultimate team packs and other gambling systems.
 

tippy2k2

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Damn

I still get Madden games as they come out (I play in a Franchise with a friend) but was looking forward to EA having to actually compete once again. There are features missing that the real NFL has (extending contracts before they play out and the 5th year option to be specific, though the 5th year option was just piss poorly implemented into the game so....progress?).

The shitty thing with a Monopoly is if I want a simulation NFL game, I have no choice but go with EA and hope that maybe they'll implement some decent upgrades from...the goodness of their hearts?

...fuck
 
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BrawlMan

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Hopefully, we can get a new NFL Blitz since it's an arcade series. Still not touching Madden. The last Madden I played was in 2008.
 

balladbird

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Oof, that sucks. I'm the kind of person who buys one sports game of each sport I'm interested in every 5-6 years, so I'm not the most negatively effected by this, but I feel for the fans... EA has stripped and dumped most of the modes players actually want in favor of their 'freemium in all but name' gachapon system.
 
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Gyrobot

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*Looks at 2k Game's handling of the NBA franchise*, if people were hoping to see if 2k had done better with the NFL franchise I am not really holding out much hope. At least EA provides a consistent yet bland product.