For nearly 30 years now, FIFA and EA Sports have been collaborating together to provide over 150 million fans a worthwhile gaming experience (EA SPORTS™ FIFA). But as it now seems, this long-running partnership has been severed after accruing over $20 million worth of sales in the past two decades.
Electronic Arts and FIFA will be parting ways as they decided not to extend the partnership. The game will be moving on as EA SPORTS FC starting next year.
The initial arrangement between both entities was to have the partnership run until this year’s World Cup scheduled to take place in Qatar ends. However, after negotiations, according to a report by The New York Times, it will now run through to the Women’s World Cup next summer. EA Sports intends on making these last moments with FIFA memorable with more features, game modes, World Cup content, and many more.
Despite this change, fans should not expect much change other than the World Cup and other FIFA-related events being excluded from the game. Fans will still be able to access most of the clubs and stars because of the separate licensing agreements.
According to the blog post by Electronic Arts:
We’re dedicated to meaningfully reinvesting in the sport, and we’re excited to work with a large and increasing number of partners to expand to new authentic experiences that bring joy, inclusivity and immersion to a global community of fans. I look forward to sharing more detail on these plans in the coming months.
EA Sports has assured fans of high standards as far as the game is concerned. Fans will be able to innovate, create and evolve as it transitions to EA Sports FC. They have also indicated that they will be providing more information in regards to the change in Summer 2023.
