According to EA Sports brand Vice President David Jackson, EA's new football simulator will sell great and become popular among fans even without “FIFA” in the title. He stated this in an interview with The Mirror.
“EA Sports FC is our vision of the future. We had a very good and productive relationship with FIFA, but now it's time for us to chart our own path forward, and be able to meet player expectations there. We feel that we can do that best through the lens of our own platform.”
To the interviewer's direct question about why EA is trying to package a simple rebranding as a galaxy-scale event, Jackson replied that without FIFA, developers now have the opportunity to create “new and engaging experiences” for players.
“It's a mindset change for us. We're thinking very broadly about opportunities now.”
What prevented EA from thinking broadly while holding the FIFA license remains unknown.