What you need to know
- The FIFA series of games from Electronic Arts has captured the attention of football-loving gamers for nearly 30 years.
- On Tuesday, EA announced that its partnership with FIFA is coming to an end, and the next FIFA game will be the last from EA.
- After July 2023, all future football games from EA will fall under the EA Sports FC branding, and will take over where FIFA ends.
- Future EA Sports FC games will continue to build on everything EA and FIFA have built so far, and keep all of EA's existing partnerships and licenses.
If you're a fan of football and video games, there's a good chance you've experienced EA Sports' FIFA series of games, which accrue tens of millions of players every year. FIFA and Electronic Arts have maintained their partnership for nearly 30 years of incredible sports games, but it seems that era is finally coming to an end.
On Tuesday, EA announced that the next FIFA game will be the last, with the franchise continuing under a new brand: EA Sports FC. This year's title (presumably FIFA 23), will be the series' most expansive yet, building off of FIFA 22, and will close out the historic partnership once and for all. Beginning in July 2023, EA will begin looking to the future, and leaving the FIFA brand behind.
EA Sports FC games should be largely identical to their FIFA predecessors, as EA is retaining its countless partnerships and licensing deals. This means EA Sports FC titles will still possess a library of over 19,000 players, 700 teams, 100 stadiums, and 30 leagues, all of which players can explore through the myriad of features and game modes EA has built over the years. We'll have to wait to see if anything about the future games changes besides the removal of the FIFA branding.
As for the last FIFA game arriving later this year, EA hasn't shared too many details, yet. It'll almost certainly be a must-play Xbox game for football fans and current FIFA players, and EA has promised the upcoming title will feature a greater number of game modes, World Cup content, competitions, and more than ever before. We should hear more about the final FIFA-branded EA game later this year.
One of the last.
The FIFA brand may be ending after the next game arrives in the next year, but FIFA 22 is available now and counts among the most feature-packed and detailed football sports games you can play. The FIFA series is played by millions, and FIFA 22 is the latest in the franchise.
