Why EA Sports FIFA Is Changing Names

Football is the planet’s most popular sport, so it’s only logical that the best football video out there will draw a lot of attention. Despite issues with game modes, microtransactions and buggy behavior, EA Sports’ FIFA has been one of the most popular franchises in videogame history, since the series first launched as FIFA International Soccer, released in 1993 for the Sega Mega Drive. However, things are about to change. No matter if you just enjoy some casual games with your friends or get really invested when playing online, pay attention cause your favorite video game is changing names: here’s why EA Sports FIFA is changing names.

The world’s number 1 football simulator will change its name to EA Sports FC. It was recently announced that FIFA 23, the latest edition of the FIFA video game series, will be the last to carry the name with which it has been branded since it launched in the early 1990s.

EA Sports and FIFA could not reach an agreement to extend the license of the naming rights for the governing body of association football, so the contract that linked the video game producer and the international body will not be renewed and expire at the end of 2023. This comes after FIFA had allegedly asked for an increase in the 150 million dollars that the video game company paid for use of their name in their product.

For this reason,  American video game company Electronic Arts (of which EA Sports is a division) had to change the name of the game and FIFA 23, which will be released in around fall of this year, will be the last FIFA in the history of video games. The company announced today in an official statement that from 2024 onwards the game will be known as EA Sports FC.

While the gaming company has announced that there will be little changes in terms of how the game plays out and the teams and players available for the gamers to use, with the top European leagues like the Premier League, LaLiga from Spain, the Italian Serie A and Germany’s Bundesliga still available, as well as most of the world’s top players like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland. There will be one major change. The FIFA World Cup won’t be available for players of this upcoming EA Sports FC 2024 as the licensing rights to world football’s most important trophy remain in the hands of its governing body and can’t be negotiated for with anybody else. Regarding the split with their longtime partners, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has remained calm and committed to offering football fans across the world the best experience in digital football, with or without Electronic Arts. “The FIFA name is the only global, original title”, Infantino said in a public statement. “FIFA 23, FIFA 24, FIFA 25 and FIFA 26, and so on… the constant is the FIFA name and it will remain forever and remain the best”.