Today, Electronic Arts revealed that its football/soccer franchise will no longer use the FIFA name, following the release of FIFA 23, later this year. The move came after months of rumors, and a public falling out between the publisher and the FIFA organization over licensing fees. Future soccer games from EA will go by EA Sports FC, but FIFA-branded video games will continue to release. In a press release, FIFA president Gianni Infantino revealed that the organization plans to continue to make video games without EA, and is already in talks with other developers and publishers regarding the future of the series.
“I can assure you that the only authentic, real game that has the FIFAname will be the best one available for gamers and football fans. TheFIFA name is the only global, original title. FIFA 23, FIFA 24, FIFA 25and FIFA 26, and so on – the constant is the FIFA name and it willremain forever and remain THE BEST,” said Infantino.
Videos by ComicBook.com
It will be interesting to see if casual gamers will become aware of this split, and what it will mean for sales of both games; it’s possible that fans of EA Sports will continue to buy yearly FIFA entries, unaware of the existence of EA Sports FC. This is not the first time that we’ve seen this kind of split in the gaming industry, as a similar situation occurred with the Harvest Moon franchise. In that case, the original Harvest Moon series had to be renamed “Story of Seasons,” while Natsume (the company that owns the name) continues to develop its own Harvest Moon titles. That split happened nearly a decade ago, but there are still some casual players unaware of that fact!
In addition to making new FIFA games, today’s press release also states that FIFA plans to make non-sim football games with third-party publishers and developers, now that its exclusivity is finished with EA. Apparently, the first of these new games will release in Q3 of 2022.
“The interactive gaming and esports sector is on a path of unrivalledgrowth and diversification. FIFA’s strategy is to ensure we can make themost of all future options and ensure a wide range of products andopportunities for gamers, fans, member associations and partners,” said Infantino.
What soccer/football game do you plan to purchase in the future? Will you continue to buy FIFA? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!
