ContactThe video game industry is yet to reach the $200 billion valuation that once seemed possible amid the pandemic’s revenue surge. Still, growth is expected to resume in 2025, and this year could hit a new high of $186 billion, thanks to steady increases expected for consoles. Looking further into the future, we believe the continued integration of third-party media inside video games will come to represent a significant revenue source for publishers and platform owners.
While gamers are already accustomed to third-party activations inside Fortnite and Roblox, the opportunity is particularly pronounced in live-service sports simulations, where the presence of rights holder IP is essentially a prerequisite to commercial success. With its storied brand and licensing network, EA Sports is perhaps best placed to expand existing agreements and incorporate new forms of third-party media. In 2024, the publisher soft-launched the EA SPORTS App in Spain, a mobile application that connects players with live sports coverage, community engagement, and interactive features. Then, in 2025, a landmark deal with Major League Soccer and Apple TV was announced that will allow players of EA SPORTS FC Mobile to stream a selection of upcoming MLS matches through a video player built into the game. Both initiatives mark a step change that recasts sports simulation titles as entertainment hubs where audiences can watch, play and generally engage with sports IP in real time.
The convergence between video games and other forms of media is also beginning to reshape how sports are broadcast and commentary is delivered to viewing audiences. MaddenCast, a collaboration between EA Sports and NBC Sports, reimagines NFL coverage by overlaying live games with video game-style graphics, player ratings, and data visualisations sourced from sports data and AI platform Genius Sports. Similarly, game developer StatusPRO’s partnership with the NFL has led to official game highlights rendered in virtual reality and featured on ESPN’s NFL Live, placing fans inside the action from a first-person perspective. Typically, media companies gain prominence through innovations with which they become synonymous. As these initiatives mature and are adopted by other broadcasters, they are likely to evolve from novel segments into established devices that push the sports viewing experience closer to the interactive, immersive norms of video games.
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Sports simulation video games, particularly long-running franchises like EA SPORTS FC, face growing pressure to justify their annual releases, re-engage lapsed players, and maintain cultural mindshare. That’s why the next evolution isn’t just better gameplay mechanics, it’s building an environment that mirrors the way fans engage with sports, researching and choosing their teams, watching highlights, posting on social media or keeping tabs on multiple games at once. EA’s recent partnership with Major League Soccer is an early sign of this shift, allowing players of EA SPORTS FC Mobile to stream live MLS matches directly through an in-game video player. While viewing data has yet to be released, the initiative signals a clear intent to position video games as a viable option for real-time sports content.
The future gaming experience will blend different forms of viewing, playing, and transacting, with profound implications for content windowing, monetisation and advertising. Although use cases will vary in scope, scale and complexity, our in-menu placements enable video game owners to embed third-party media, whether live or time-shifted video, social streams, or retail media feeds, natively within the game’s menu screen. In the current phase of the streaming era, consolidating content is nearly as vital as the content itself, and if you’re going to play in it, there’s no getting around that. For sports simulation IP in particular, now is the right time to forge deeper partnerships with the wider entertainment ecosystem.
