FIFA 23 will be EA's last football game with the prestigious brand name

FIFA is undoubtedly one of the most recognizable brand names in the entire world. In addition to being the name of the powerful international football governing body, most people also associate FIFA with the long-running video game series developed by EA Sports. Although these annual releases have proven to be one of the best-selling video games on both PC and consoles year after year, the American publisher has now made headlines with the announcement of a brand-new name for the successor to FIFA 23.

EA Sports' upcoming football game, which is expected to be released in September 2022, will still be called FIFA 23 thanks to a temporary licensing deal. After that, the next iterations of the video game series will carry the new ”EA Sports FC” name from 2023 onward. The publisher’s main reason for dropping the prestigious brand name appears to be the horrendously expensive licensing fee of up to US$1 billion, which the football organization demanded for the exclusive use of its name after the release of FIFA 23.

EA will retain official licenses for leagues and teams after FIFA 23

It should be noted that the American publisher will keep the official licenses for players, teams and football leagues which are represented in these games. Therefore, EA Sports claims that the successor to FIFA 23 will offer a similarly great gaming experience despite its new name. Meanwhile, the FIFA itself has already announced that it intends to collaborate with other gaming publishers in the future. The end of Electronic Art’s exclusive rights means that several different video games with the FIFA branding could theoretically hit the market in future.

If you yearn for some virtual football matches in anticipation of the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar and don’t like to wait for the release of FIFA 23, you can grab the current FIFA 22 from US$27 on Amazon or get the game as part of Sony’s free PlayStation Plus titles in May 2022.