Electronic Arts is dropping FIFA branding after 30 years for EA Sports FC
EA will bid adieu to the brand after FIFA 2023 releases this fall.
Electronic Arts announced today it is stepping away from FIFA, and come 2023, its football games will move forward under the new EA Sports FC brand.
According to EA, the move will allow it to "deliver the world’s biggest interactive sports experience" for the growing community in collaboration with over 300 partners across the world of football.
EA Sports FC will provide EA with a platform to "innovate, create, and grow new experiences," the company said. Plus, it will bring more areas of the sport to life, and "harness the collective strength" of more than 150 million players across the company's global football games to reach hundreds of millions of new fans in the years to come.
“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 EA CEO 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.”
EA Sports FC will bring the strength of over 300 individual licensed partners, providing players with access to over 19,000 athletes across 700 teams, in 100 stadiums and over 30 leagues around the world. EA plans to continue to stretch the portfolio by retaining and expanding the licensed football content, scaling to new experiences, and increasing access through more platforms. EA also promises to build upon a "foundation of inclusivity" and "innovate in new areas" with both women’s and grassroots football.
The introduction of EA Sports FC will not impact any current games, which means you can expect FIFA 23 sometime this fall. The final FIFA product promises to include "more game modes, features, teams, leagues, players, and competitions" than any previous iteration.
“We’re thankful for our many years of great partnership with FIFA," said Wilson. "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.”
More information on EA Sports FC will be made available in summer 2023.
The change shouldn't come as a surprise considering EA trademarked EA Sports FC back in October.
The trademark was filed after EA noted it may drop its FIFA branding after a fracture between the two bodies occurred.
Back in February, it was reported that company CEO Andrew Wilson said during a November 2021 meeting the FIFA license had been “an impediment” to the firm growing the franchise. Wilson reportedly stated that while the company has had a "great relationship with FIFA over the past 30-odd years," it’s been "a fight" to get FIFA to acknowledge the types of things that the company wants to create.