EA Sports announced this week that FIFA 22, which will be released later this year, will be the last made with the FIFA label, ending a nearly three-decade partnership.
The game, which normally releases late every summer, features leagues and teams from around the world. The game would bring millions of dollars in revenue to FIFA.
EA Sports claims that its range of FIFA games has over 150 million players worldwide.
Instead of EA Sports partnering with FIFA, the video game company announced that it will start publishing EA Sports FC in 2023. EA Sports said it has licensing deals with top leagues including the UEFA Champions League , UEFA Europa League, CONMEBOL Libertadores, Premier League, Bundesliga, LaLiga, Serie A and MLS.
EA Sports FC will include 700 teams from around the world from over 30 leagues.
“Our vision for EA SPORTS FC is to create the biggest and most influential football club in the world, at the epicenter of football fandom,” said Andrew Wilson, CEO of Electronic Arts. “For nearly 30 years, we’ve been building the largest football community in the world – with hundreds of millions of players, thousands of athlete partners and hundreds of leagues, federations and teams. EA SPORTS FC will be the club each of them, and football fans around the world.
With EA Sports and FIFA ending their relationship, FIFA-sanctioned events, such as the World Cup, will no longer be on the EA Sports football video game.
Defiantly, FIFA President Gianni Infantino promised a video game that would more than compete with EA Sports FC.
“I can assure you that the only real authentic game bearing the FIFA name will be the best available to gamers and football fans,” he said. “The name of FIFA is the only global and original title. FIFA 23, FIFA 24, FIFA 25 and FIFA 26, and so on – the constant is the name of FIFA and it will forever remain and remain THE BEST.”
FIFA has stated that several non-simulation games using the FIFA brand will be released later this year and in 2023. A full simulation game using the FIFA moniker could be released by 2024.
