After a very public feud between the two longtime partners that’s gone on for at least a year and led to FIFA threatening to take exclusive naming rights from EA, a huge change is coming to EA Sports’ long line of FIFA games. According to EVP and Group GM of EA Sports, Cam Weber, the publisher will relaunch the future installments of its football games as EA Sports FC, a name that came up as the talks that FIFA 22 would be the last FIFA game were at their peak. But, don’t worry, as Weber also reassured fans that EA isn’t going the Konami route with the worst-rated eFootball 2022. As per Weber, EA’s “unique licensing portfolio of more than 19,000+ players, 700+ teams, 100+ stadiums, and 30 leagues,” will all be in EA Sports FC. Perhaps the biggest takeaway from what Weber said of the name change is that it’s not just a renaming of the series. Weber described the transition from FIFA to EA Sports FC as a “symbol of change.” Although Weber didn’t clarify exactly how EA Sports FC will differ from previous outings, we suppose it has something to do with previous reports of EA’s Andrew Wilson saying that the FIFA branding is holding the games back. However, despite the name change, FIFA 22 still isn’t the last. As confirmed by one of our earlier reports, FIFA 23 is still set to come out later this year, which Weber claims is the “most expansive game ever with our current naming rights partner, FIFA.” Unfortunately, fans shouldn’t expect to hear more about FIFA 23 anytime soon. After EA canceled EA Play this year and with E3 out of the picture, the usual timeframe for EA’s showcase just went out the window. Don’t be surprised if EA reveals FIFA 23 close to the holiday season. EA’s FIFA series is a behemoth in the gaming industry. The latest iteration, FIFA 22, boasts millions of players around the globe. In addition to casual players and hardcore fans, FIFA also has a thriving esports scene. It will be interesting to see how EA Sports FC will survive following the name change. Lest we forget, the aforementioned football game, eFootball 2022, which was previously released under the Pro Evolution Soccer brand, flopped so hard that it has never recovered. Even if EA will retain all the rights and licenses typically associated with the FIFA brand, the publisher will still have an uphill climb. Then again, FIFA, the sporting organization, will have a similar if not worse predicament if it intends to sell the rights to a different developer to create a new video game series.
