It’s been on the rumour mill for a while now, but it’s now official: after nearly 30 years, EA SPORTS will no longer make football games under the FIFA banner, instead switching to EA SPORTS FC from next year.
FIFA is a way of life for so many of us. Aside from a brief fling with Konami’s Pro Evo in the early millennium, the EA SPORTS produced football game has been where it’s at since most were old enough to hold a controller, from those classic diagonal-sweep versions of the 90s right up to the current iteration, FIFA 22. But that line is set to come to an end after FIFA 23 following the official announcement that EA will no longer be producing their iconic football franchise under the governing body’s banner. Instead they will move forward under a new EA SPORTS FC brand in 2023.
The talk of a switch has been circulating since last year, and while some clung to the hope that it was merely a negotiating tactic after FIFA reportedly demanded too much money to renew the contract, it has now become a reality. But rather than dwell on the negative side, EA have been quick to put a positive spin on this, highlighting all of the benefits of EA SPORTS FC, which include ongoing support from the likes of the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, UEFA, CONMEBOL and Nike. In fact, the brand have said that EA SPORTS FC will bring the strength of more than 300 individual licensed partners, giving players access to more than 19,000 athletes across 700 teams, in 100 stadiums and over 30 leagues around the world.
“Our vision for EA SPORTS FC is to create the largest and most impactful football club in the world, at the epicenter of football fandom,” said Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson. “For nearly 30 years, we’ve been building the world’s biggest football community - with hundreds of millions of players, thousands of athlete partners, and hundreds of leagues, federations, and teams. EA SPORTS FC will be the club for every one of them, and for football fans everywhere.”
EA are viewing this as an opportunity to further grow the reach and power of its football licensing portfolio by retaining and expanding the licensed football content, scaling to new experiences, and increasing access through more platforms. EA will also build on a foundation of inclusivity and innovate in new areas around both women’s and grassroots football for the global community.
Wilson continued: “We’re thankful for our many years of great partnership with FIFA. The future of global football is very bright, and fandom around the world has never been stronger. We have an incredible opportunity to put EA SPORTS FC at the heart of the sport, and to bring even more innovative and authentic experiences to the growing football audience.”
EA SPORTS FC will be the only place fans can play in the iconic UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, CONMEBOL Libertadores, Premier League, Bundesliga, LaLiga, Serie A, and MLS, among many others. The breadth and depth of EA’s ecosystem of licensed content will enable it to offer unrivalled authenticity in EA SPORTS football games, now and for many years to come.
While we fear change, it looks like EA have this in hand and could potentially produce an even better product at the end of the day. Panic over.
More information on EA SPORTS FC will be made available in Summer 2023.
