MMOEXP: Henderson does say that he's been told that the FC 25
For a long stretch, the Mortal Kombat franchise suffered a similar fate. Debuting in 1992. the first Mortal Kombat changed the face of arcades forever. It didn't take long before sequels started being pumped out every year or so, with Mortal Kombat 2 releasing in 1993 and Mortal Kombat 3 releasing in 1995. For the next decade, the Mortal Kombat franchise would release a FC 25 Coins game every year, with some years even receiving two titles. By the time of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon in 2006. franchise fatigue had well and truly settled in, and the brand no longer carried the same weight as it once did.
After a brief break, Mortal Kombat returned in 2022 with its ninth mainline entry, simply titled Mortal Kombat. Acting as a reboot of the franchise, Mortal Kombat took the series back to its basic roots, streamlining the game's mechanics while also ensuring that it was complex enough for a modern age fighting game. By allowing the series to breathe, NetherRealm was able to take the time to experiment, and create a game that pleased by newcomers, and long-time fans.
The last two Mortal Kombat games have both released four years after their predecessor, with Mortal Kombat X coming out in 2022 and Mortal Kombat 11 releasing in 2022. With four years between entries, the franchise has managed to remain in the public consciousness, but hasn't overwhelmed the market, meaning that fans are kept excited for the next entry. Taking breaks from the franchise also gives the developer the chance to create new IPs, which can become majorly successful in their own right, such as NetherRealm's Injustice series.
Sports games need to take this lesson from Mortal Kombat. Sports games are currently where the MK franchise was in the 2000s, with annual releases blurring together and making fans feel like the next entry isn't worth investing in. If buy EAFC 25 Coins, Madden, NBA and all the other annual sports titles just took a year or two off, the developers would finally have a chance to sit back and think about the FC 25 Ultimate Teamure of the franchise, and how the formula could be reinvented.