One of the greatest-ever gaming team-ups is officially coming to an end, with EA Sports ditching the FIFA brand nearly 30 years after it brought us the first FIFA game.
According to the gaming giant, the FIFA branding is being dropped in favour of a new name: EA Sports FC.
According to EA Sports, despite the rather significant name change, the actual game is set to stay the same, with EA Sports exec Cam Weber noting: "Everything you love about our games will be part of EA Sports FC - the same great experiences, modes, leagues, tournaments, clubs and athletes. Ultimate Team, Career Mode, Pro Clubs and Volta Football will all be there.
"Our unique licensing portfolio of more than 19,000+ players, 700+ teams, 100+ stadiums and 30 leagues that we've continued to invest in for decades will still be there, uniquely in EA Sports FC. That includes exclusive partnerships with the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, the MLS - and more to come."
The change won't happen this year, with FIFA 23 coming out with the same branding, but beyond that it will be a FIFA-free game.
The dropping of FIFA, though, will likely have repercussions given how much FIFA has become the a sports gaming stablemate. The dropping of the brand will also allow EA Sports to develop its own brand further, so don't be surprised when it becomes EA Sports FC for new features to be added.
"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 boss 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.
"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 partnership with FIFA began way back in 1993, with the launch of FIFA International Soccer on the Sega Mega Drive. Since then the FIFA series has sold over 325 million copies and is in the Guinness Book Of Records for the best-selling video game franchise in the world.
Given the importance of licensing for FIFA (from a revenue point of view), it's highly likely we will see another FIFA-endorsed game at some point - but EA Sports won't be... in the game.
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