After months of babbling about it, the 30-year-long partnership between Electronic Arts and the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) is now officially over. FIFA 23, which is set to be released this year, will be the last game of the FIFA video game series as we know it.
Electronic Arts already announced that their video game series will continue, but after FIFA 23, the series will have a new official name — EA Sports FC, and nothing much about the game, except its name, will change. The EA still has the rights to make a simulation game featuring hundreds of licensed clubs. Real Madrid, Liverpool FC, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Toronto FC, and other major clubs already announced that they will stick to EA, as well as the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), which means we will be able to play UEFA Champions League and other competitions in future EA games. FIFA is currently looking for a new developer for FIFA 24 and the other future games under their name.
1993’s FIFA International Soccer was the first EA game made in partnership with FIFA. Since then, the games were released annually, plus some bonus games like FIFA Street and the official FIFA World Cup video games. FIFA 23 is promised to be the biggest game yet and it will reportedly feature licensed mods for both the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. After that, we can say bye-bye to FIFA competitions in EA games, but FIFA also said they’re looking for a new developer to make new games under their name.
“I can assure you that the only authentic, real game that has the FIFA name will be the best one available for gamers and football fans. The FIFA name is the only global, original title. FIFA 23, FIFA 24, FIFA 25, and FIFA 26, and so on – the constant is the FIFA name and it will remain forever and remain THE BEST.” — Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA
