Delphi Interactive's FIFA and Bond deals define a new IP licensing playbook
Summary
Delphi CEO Casper Daugaard confirms iconic-brand talks are underway after FIFA and 007 launches
Thesis: large publishers deprioritize third-party IP, opening space for a full-stack intermediary
Both deals share one structure: Delphi licenses and publishes, a specialist studio builds, a platform distributes
"We said to the family and to MGM, 'We're not making this James Bond game for gamers, we want to make this game for James Bond fans'"
01
Delphi positions as the deal-structuring layer big publishers won't be
President Andy Kleinman cites "misalignment" - large publishers deprioritize third-party IP
"There are these huge brands that people love. This product doesn't exist. We should make it"
Daugaard's mandate: "license, finance, develop, and publish games built around the world's most iconic IP"
Delphi sits between IP holders and specialist studios, not competing with either
02
Fan-first reframing expands the licensor's addressable market pitch
Daugaard argues the framing has "huge implications for how we got into business" - not marketing spin
Audience shifts from "gamers who know the IP" to "fans of the IP" - a larger TAM story for licensors
Bond design commitments: driving, social stealth, flirting, MI6 mechanics - franchise identity over genre convention
FIFA's casual accessibility targeted the global football fanbase, not EA Sports' lapsed player base
03
The Delphi FIFA game template: license + studio + platform
FIFA World Cup: Launch Edition - Refactor Games built it, Netflix distributed, launched two weeks before FIFA Heroes
007 First Light - IO Interactive developing, license secured directly from the Bond family and MGM
Netflix backed FIFA despite Delphi having "essentially no time to deliver" - platform urgency to fill the post-EA gap
First FIFA release since EA's 2022 split - Delphi captured the IP window competitors underestimated
04
Iconic-brand pipeline signals a repeatable model, not one-off wins
Daugaard at Paley Center: "quite a few conversations with some of the most iconic brands in the world that are intrigued by our model"
No IPs named - but the pitch reframes FIFA and Bond as proof-of-concept for a licensing platform
For BD leads: Delphi is now a credible third path between AAA publishing and platform-funded development
Events
Companies
Games
Locations
—
COMPILED BY GAMES ATLAS EDITORIAL
RELATED ARTICLES
EXPLORE MORE
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!