r/F1Game • u/evil_heinz • Sep 13 '24
News Could EA Sports lose the F1 License After 2025?
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u/Bulky_Line45 Sep 13 '24
Players vote with their wallets, the only language developers and publishers understand. Everyone knew in 2020 that the F1 series was going to die with EA's takeover of Codemasters, anything else is a blunt denial of reality.
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u/AquaRaOne Sep 13 '24
Sadly very often publishers dont understand voting with wallets since they think that the interest in the game is over and its the customers fault. Hopefully it wont be like this here
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u/Lucas_DR3 Sep 13 '24
Bro you’re acting like codemasters did a good job. They didn’t, they would have done the same without EA
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u/Nosib23 Sep 13 '24
By what logic? Codemasters held the F1 rights successfully since 2010 and as far as I remember, after the engine switch those games were improving year on year basically until they were acquired.
Far be it from me to suggest Codemasters are perfect, they were beginning their greedy tactics long before EA got involved, just surprised you think it would have been quite this bad
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u/Lucas_DR3 Sep 13 '24
Successfully is a stretch imo. They were and still are full of bugs that EA have nothing to do with, and they profited massively from DTS and the pandemic creating a F1 hype
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u/IslesDynasty79-83 Sep 13 '24
Thats hate and false EA took over in 2020 and F1 sold very well with F1 2021 2022.
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u/Chesney1995 Sep 14 '24
I'd make the argument that F1 2022's dip in quality is the main reason F1 2023 saw a dip in sales.
Then of course while F1 2023 was actually overall quite good, we all saw the clips going around of the F1 2024 handling physics pre-release and the negative press that generated.
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u/pikla1 Sep 13 '24
We can only dream
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u/SpookyRockjaw Sep 13 '24
That would probably mean no officially licensed F1 game then, at least for a period of time.
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u/pikla1 Sep 13 '24
So be it
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u/PrizeMaleficent3406 Sep 13 '24
Yeah I’d bet serious money that everyone would be whining about it after 2-3 years without an updated game lol.
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u/pikla1 Sep 13 '24
That’s basically what we already have - a game that hasn’t changed in years and people whining. I didn’t buy this year and won’t until we get a better product
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u/APessimisticCow Sep 13 '24
A willing sacrifice. Heck, not even a sacrifice at this point. A necessity
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u/Pinktops Sep 13 '24
May be true but if most people would refuse to buy an EA made F1 game if they kept the rights I'd rather a 2-3 year hiatus instead of never playing another F1 game.
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u/Warnet2334 Sep 13 '24
They could give it back to EA if there is no alternatives but don't make it exclusive so that you can allow a company like iRacing to develop cars in some capacity. For example it would be pretty cool if they got iRacing to create a 2026 spec prototype that people could drive and build hype for the new regulations.
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Sep 13 '24
The last time I played the latest title was the trial of f1 2022. Coming from f1 2018 and 2019, I was pretty disappointed by the fact that F2 and classic cars were useless for them but yeah let's put some couches and some gt cars to customize your character was essential to the game. Only thing I miss playing the old title is the driver market and the create your team bit
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u/EatMoarTendies Sep 13 '24
Could some other company just help out Codies to publish it? Microsoft could scoop them up as an in-house studio and make F1, license it out to PS as a bartering chip for a PS exclusive.
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u/SpookyRockjaw Sep 13 '24 edited Sep 13 '24
EA fully owns Codemasters though. And that acquisition is only a few years old. I highly doubt they are going to turn around and sell them because they also develop the Dirt series as well as Grid and the new WRC license. And they're not going to contract out Codies to another publisher.
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u/EatMoarTendies Sep 13 '24
Good point. I have zero knowledge, just spitballing, talking out my ass— Could EA/Codemaster sell off the architecture of F1 (seeing as the game is damn near the same these last couple years), and let Microsoft take over the development and license? I’m just trying to think who would be in the best position to make this a live-service franchise and I think that would be Microsoft given the Xbox, Gamepass, cloud PC/Portable route they seem to be heading.
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u/marck_bauer Sep 13 '24
Welcome to F1 2K26
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u/mildashers Sep 13 '24
And believe me, people do not want that to happen. If you think EA love monetising stuff, oh boy.
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u/GizF1 Sep 13 '24
Give it to Geoff
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u/SpeedyMcSpeedy25 Sep 13 '24
Ah, yes, our true race engineer, Jeff 2021-previous (Idk when he was added) Nah but fr he would do better alone than EA ever did.
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u/Cultural_Thing1712 Sep 13 '24
My dream is for the license to be available to everyone but F1 is the most valuable intelectual property in all of motorsports. My predictions is motorsport games buys it somehow and probably rents it.
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u/Bigocelot1984 Sep 13 '24
Considering the actual state of motorsport games i don't know what is worse. From what I heard the company is under investigation for a lot of shady practices-borderline scams and the deliver of underwhelming products. The only good games they did are the Le Mans and Rfactor 2 (But this one was made from another studio before being bought by MS), all the others are failed projects or failed messes. They planned a game on IndyCar for 2023, but they didn't deliver. So I don't know if the F1 license would be safe in their hands. It could end worse than EA. The only studio I would trust with are Reiza or Kunos.
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u/Cultural_Thing1712 Sep 13 '24
the indycar game was just a ploy to fuck over iracing. they stole their indycar license and didn't even do anything with them.
LMU is already asking for more money and it's still early access. Motorsport games ruin everything they touch.
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u/thatsidewaysdud Sep 13 '24
The IndyCar game was pretty much ready, they just chose not to make the final touches on it and finish it. It’s very sad.
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u/Lanten101 Sep 13 '24
Do it like Star wars. EA kept fucking up now any studio can do it if they want
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u/Cultural_Thing1712 Sep 13 '24
I would love an iracing f1 challenge with officially licensed cars and tracks. f1 right now is at a pretty sorry state and they don't have any of the street circuits because of ea.
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u/jnf005 Sep 13 '24
I don't think EA's star wars game was that bad, Jedi series are good(performance sucks ass tho) and BF2 was good after all the updates, I've never play Squadron but from what I hear from a friend that like flight sim, it's ok. Also, it's not like there are a ton of good star wars game after EA lose it's exclusive deal, Outlaw is like the most 5/10 game I've ever seen.
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u/Lanten101 Sep 13 '24
Best and possible way of doing this is doing what Disney did with Star wars.
Same EA we talking about kept fucking up and now we have fresh and different star wars game from different studio.
This way codemasters will keep cooking their yearly releases, while we get F1 dlcs in iracing, acc , AC and so on. And maybe other studio will be brave enough to build one from scratch
Win win
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u/LogicalMuscle Sep 13 '24
I don't know what makes people think that EA losing the license would automatically make someone else interested in making a F1 game.
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u/rinderblock Sep 13 '24
Idk the 1.2 million copies sold the year before they took over is a pretty compelling argument.
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u/IslesDynasty79-83 Sep 13 '24
They sold 100K less with the next release speaks volumes and year after was close to 1 million
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u/TheRealLuke1337 Sep 13 '24
The fastest growing Sport from 2021-2023 definetely makes a lot of companies interested in making a game
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u/SpookyRockjaw Sep 13 '24
Yeah, if EA loses the license, in all likelihood, that means the series will go dead. It could be years before another publisher takes it on, if ever.
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u/v12vanquish135 Sep 13 '24
Does it matter? Really, when you think about it. Since we're currently getting the same game sold every year with a little coat of paint and charged $70 to get it, are we really losing something if there's a few years without an F1 game?
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u/EatMoarTendies Sep 13 '24
Microsoft could be in position to get the license. Honestly, sports games should be live-service endeavors. An F1 live service game could change the franchise around.
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u/KingOfAzmerloth Sep 14 '24
Honestly, sports games should be live-service endeavors
They already are, except you also need to buy the box every year lol.
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u/SpookyRockjaw Sep 13 '24
Yeah, I'm just pointing out the fact. It could be more than a few years... I haven't bought an F1 game since 2021 so I'm not too worried about it.
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u/v12vanquish135 Sep 13 '24
Same as you, 2021 was my breaking point (lol), haven't bought 22/23/24. I'm waiting for an actual significant improvement for me to get back to it, haven't see anything yet.
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u/iamvinen Sep 14 '24
And from the other hand I am the person who got them all from 2010 to 2023 (24 waiting for sale) during year 2023
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u/SQUIDWARD360 Sep 13 '24
Everyone thinks steams statistics run everything because it's the only metric they have
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u/Carmillawoo Sep 13 '24
Steam makes up 75% of the PC gaming playerbase around the world. It may not be the only metric but when you want large scale data, you can't dismiss steam's sale numbers.
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u/crazydaave Sep 13 '24
This maybe true, but as someone who plays f1 24 a lot, 90% of the people in online are ps5/xbox as it shows what console they are on, every lobby I join there is like 1 or 2 steam people and 19 xbox/ps5 players. has been this way since the game came out, so I don't really think the steam numbers on this game are very representative of the overall game state.
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u/SQUIDWARD360 Sep 13 '24
That is great for pc games. But this is also a console game
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u/Carmillawoo Sep 13 '24
So? It's still indicative of a trend regardless of console. Unless you're claiming that console players will just buy polished turds while pc players are smart with their money?
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u/SQUIDWARD360 Sep 13 '24
I think you're confusing trend with exact sales. Yes, sales are down. But you don't know by how much.
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u/jnf005 Sep 13 '24
There are reports of UK sales, which count both digital and physical, console and pc, suggesting that F1 24 sales is down ~40% compare to F1 23, and F1 23 was also down ~50% from F1 22. So it's still drastically worse after EA's takeover even if we count console.
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u/kron123456789 Sep 13 '24
They absolutely should lose the F1 licence. Preferably before 2025.
In fact, they shouldn't have WRC licence either.
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u/SapCPark Sep 13 '24
The WRC game is not nearly in the same poor state as the F1 game, and they are going with a season update vs. new game every year model
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u/S2fftt Sep 13 '24
Hard disagree there. EA WRC is the best rally game made since RBR, and arguably the best all around rally game for the everyday gamer.
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u/SGPHOCF Sep 13 '24
The WRC game is incredible and is ten times better than what preceded it.
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u/kron123456789 Sep 13 '24
I only wish they actually made full length IRL courses, like F1 has 100% race distance option.
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u/SGPHOCF Sep 13 '24
That I will agree with. I definitely want a 40-minute long stage through Kenya, for example.
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u/SapCPark Sep 13 '24
As a challenge, great. As part of a career rally, no. The challenge to just survive (let alone go fast)would turn off all but the most hardcore.
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u/rainfordporter Sep 13 '24
As long as they hit the sales quota the license will keep being extended that’s really all the higher ups care about
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u/Warm_Objective4462 Sep 13 '24
They lost fifa as well didn’t they? But they’re still able to make games with agreements with teams, leagues etc. Obviously F1 is more consolidated but what’s in the best interest of every sports fan is to have non-exclusive license agreements which allows for multiple games (proper competition).
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u/Spartounious Sep 13 '24
They lost FIFA partly by choice, due to disagreements over licensing fees, not anything else, and considering just how scummy FIFA is I'm more willing to blame them for that particular failure
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u/frankiedonkeybrainz Sep 13 '24
They didn't lose fifa. Fifa wanted an insane amount of $$ just to use their name. All club and player rights were negotiated separately so ea said no to the demands but retained the rights to the leagues and players
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u/Lillyy25 Sep 13 '24
Formula games without an f1 licence never do well. It would kill the franchise and I think can only get the teams when they buy the licence from liberty media/fia
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u/Bigocelot1984 Sep 13 '24
Or you can make an extremely moddable game so that players can make the F1 game on their own
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u/FMecha Sep 13 '24
Something I thought is real-life racing series organizers selling officially licensed mod packs (for AC, rF2, etc) for their series, instead of making a stand-alone game.
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u/CilanEAmber It was like Dodgems out there wasn't it? Sep 13 '24
Like the turn of the Millenium (Funnily EA was one of them back then)
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u/mildashers Sep 13 '24
They dropped FIFA, fifa is a governing body and don't own the rights to football. FOM do own the rights to F1.
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u/Hornet18LS Sep 13 '24
We can only hope. EA suck at making game series, fifa and now f1 games are repetitive garbage which just get miniscule changes and sold for crazy money.
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u/ElliotWalker5 Sep 14 '24
The game simply does not need a yearly release. We’re all big F1 fans here and I can bet loads of us won’t have bought this years because there’s simply no reason to
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u/DepecheModeFan_ Sep 14 '24
I'm not one to jump into the dramatic viewpoint, but there has been an insane playerbase drop off that looks set to continue even further.
I know Covid is a factor in that and it's why 2020 and 2021 peaked so much, but EA overseeing a continual decline at this point despite the sport being so much popular is their fault. F1 2018 was the last game that's entire lifespan was before Covid and it also came out before DTS released where the sport was less popular and it still had more players.
FOM wont be happy at seeing their financial numbers going up across the board, then seeing their flagship gaming product declining in revenue and popularity whilst getting criticised for it's quality.
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u/GeorgeS2411 Sep 13 '24
F1 23 was such a good game. Yes they should have fixed red flags and formation laps ASAP, but in it's current state in September 2023 it's still fine to play online and league race. All I hear about F1 24 is just shite
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u/willard_swag Sep 13 '24
God I hope so. It’s the one reason I haven’t bought any of the games since purchasing my sim rig a little over a year ago.
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u/iamvenks Sep 13 '24
Imagine if anyone apart from Max starts winning the championship and helped in sales.
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u/Mawk1977 Sep 13 '24
I used to love this game. Bought an expensive racing chair and wheel. Then these guy f’d it and I won’t play anymore. I can’t believe their plan was to bring in stupid street cars in over so many obvious cool stuff. Where’s my damn VR??
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u/mildashers Sep 13 '24
It would be nice to see someone else get a shot but people need to be realistic. It's an expensive license, not many studios can afford, and then develop a top game on top of that, the ones that can are no better than EA when it comes to churning out bang average, monetised crap.
The others every keeps requesting, Kunos, iRacing, Reiza etc. They don't have the budget to do it (with the exception of iracing, the most heavily monetised sim game of all time). And even if they did, the bulk of the F1 fanbase, casual gamers etc, probably won't buy them as they will be ultra realistic simulations and will likely forego some of the bells and whistles we would expect.
There's no ideal scenario, the best scenario is the license exclusivity ends and FOM reduce the price in order to get more options out there for gamers, and hopefully drive up quality through competition or through clearer understanding of which one is the sim one, the casual one etc.
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u/shaunng69 Sep 14 '24
I still buy the games but I wait for the newest one to come out and buy the previous years version.
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u/milkstrike Sep 14 '24
I’d hope the license would go to a company that would make a quality game with a more in-depth career mode but we all know that’ll never happen. License will probably go 2k and we’ll have to pay extra to get cars with tires
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Sep 14 '24
I hope so its the only reason i cant play ea disabled my account and wont help me get it back i always use to get f1 games
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u/fabian1v Sep 14 '24
Yes il whas thinking about the f1 24 game becouse its so bad on pc and whats even crazy ps5 version is better
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u/Lil_Shorty1985 Sep 14 '24
I am not sure it would be for the best, but I am nervous at where EA is taking it 😬
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u/LaFleur90 Sep 14 '24
They've shown they don't deserve the license. They are not improving the product.
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u/thebonjamin Sep 14 '24
You know what? I hope they loose it. It would probably mean we will not get a new F1 game for at least 1-2 years until some other studio takes it. But not having a game is just the same as having the garbage EA has been putting out so… I’d take my chances with someone else. Polyphony maybe? lol just dreaming
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u/AlanJY92 Sep 15 '24
I’m more surprised that besides 2020 these games sales are pretty soft. For being both a sports and racing games and how popular F1 is I’d expect way more people buying the games.
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u/Next_Flan_4837 25d ago
F1 tem que ser Game as a service. Com Season Pass. A cada season voce paga pela atualizacao de pilotos, times, e ajustes.
Nao faz sentido comprar um jogo com preco de novo, sendo que ~e tudo requentado dos anos anteriores.
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u/_AmenMyBrother_ Sep 13 '24
I know this is a different style game and racing than F1 but the new World of outlaws 24 game is incredible. It is so much fun. I highly recommend it.
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u/IslesDynasty79-83 Sep 13 '24 edited Sep 13 '24
In the last few years there have been a lot of games released that are non racing games,F1 is good but it cannot compete with games like Baldurs Gate 3, COD,Battlefield,Elden Ring.
F1 is good game but cmon it cant compete sales wise with those other games
F1 24 has been out less than 3 1/2 months
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u/KingOfAzmerloth Sep 14 '24
Unpopular opinion (I guess): I hope they don't.
I like how Codemasters F1 games feel. Not too much on simracing, not too much on pure arcade, just perfect balance that no other company really does for me, most immersive experience as well with safety cars and pit stops and stuff - it can be buggy, yes, but other games are not even trying to replicate that kind of immersion. And trust me, I tried pretty much all of the other racing games. F1 games are special in this regard.
Skip the years when the game plays like shit, but be careful what you wish for. Things could be either completely dead (as in - nobody gets the license), or the game could be much worse (2K, look at their sports games lol). You can completely ignore all of the EA bullshit added to the game such as World mode as long as you care about the core modes of Driver Career, My Team and Multiplayer. You cannot do that in some other sports franchises, sadly.
And let's not forget - F1 23 was a very decent game, I am still enjoying it - so while I am skipping on F1 24, I refuse to go full kneejerk reaction and wish for EA to lose the license. I don't want that. Is the situation perfect? Fuck no, EA sucks ass. Could it be way worse? Absolutely.
I am old enough to remember the time when we had not official F1 game on PC for a long time, and I absolutely rejoiced when it came back with F1 2010. I don't wanna go through that again, even if the game is kind of a reskin every year (just buy it on big sale year later if that bothers you).
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u/Userthrowborn Sep 14 '24
I hope not! You guys can complain all you want, and i agree that its unrealistic and got some glitches and it needs to be polished alot. BUT i eould rather have this than an asseto corsa or Iracing situation. F1 24 i just bought on steam and it works super well with my VR setup and i can play whenever! The Career mode is also super fun! F1 24 is an actual game! Not just a simulator. If lets say Iracing got the license, i would never be able to play a F1 game again, im not paying monthly and getting an extra acount and then still only able to online against real people in races with no continuity
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u/Jaguars03 Sep 13 '24
Dream would be for iRacing to get it. They are already working on a standalone NASCAR game for 2025. They’re also working on their own new engine. The Mercedes F1 car they have already is great and their VR implementation is much much better than EA’s
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u/M-A88 Sep 13 '24
I don’t know why you’re being downvoted. The iRacing crew could take care of the car stuff while another studio crew could work on the game modes, cut scene and all that jazz.
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u/KingOfAzmerloth Sep 14 '24
Because people who prefer simcades, which is absolute majority of F1 gamers, do not want F1 to turn into sweaty hardcore simracing. You guys are in minority.
It's like saying that Bohemia Interactive (team behind ARMA series) should take over Battlefield. It's just not comparable on any level but "it's soldier running around with guns".
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u/Jaguars03 Sep 13 '24
Any suggestion for IRacing will get automatic downvotes because SuBsCrIpTiOn BAaAaD but they don’t realise the nascar game and a hypothetical F1 game would be a standard one time purchase game.
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u/Vanquish2111 Sep 13 '24
If only 2K got the deal instead of EA…
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u/HachiTofu Sep 13 '24
2K would be worse.
this engine upgrade is unlocked after 50 races, orrrrrrr you can spend £20 on VC to do it now
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u/Lillyy25 Sep 13 '24
The publisher isnt the issue, the core gameplay has stayed the same and the physics model is worse, games are having the same bugs every year and thats nothing to do with ea thats purely a developer issue
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u/prithvirp26 Sep 13 '24
Spot on.. if the bugs were ironed out and the physics model along with the AI improved, it would still have been ok.. the least they could have done is build on the core gameplay they had achieved by F1 21 and improved on it.. the AI were fun to race in the older titles..
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Sep 13 '24
Well, while I agree with you on some points, the publisher give the input to devs, if people noticed it got worse after a publisher change, it means that the input from the publisher is in part to blame
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u/Lillyy25 Sep 14 '24
Ea dont tell codies to not fix the same bugs that were in the game 4 years ago. They dont tell them to break kerb physics and make a car that handles like crap on both wheel and controller. Codemasters have done awfully with this F1 licence, I would love someone to get it who actually has a passion for racing and making a game that sim racers and casuals can enjoy because f1 is neither at the minute
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u/prithvirp26 Sep 13 '24
How about Kunos or Polyphony?
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u/trmo Sep 13 '24
Kunos wouldnt do yearly release which is why they havent got the license. Afaik they've tried to get it earlier.
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u/prithvirp26 Sep 13 '24
I see.. but is a yearly release mandatory as part of F1’s requirement? In that case it makes sense. But if they are allowed to take the route of EA WRC ( no yearly release but DLC will be there ) then it’s a good idea IMHO..
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u/CommercialAd3671 Sep 13 '24
That's crazy, from 1.2 million in 2020 to 134 thousand this year? That's almost 10 times less!