After months of speculation that EA will be parting ways with FIFA, the silence has finally been broken by EA.
Plenty of rumours have been circulating over the past several weeks, some suggesting that FIFA 22 could be the last in the franchise and others stating that the game we know and love could be due a name change.
It looks as though EA has, at last, provided some clarity on the situation, with an announcement that has shed some light on the name change and the effect the split will have on FIFA 23.
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It's official... EA Sports FC has been officially confirmed by the EA Sports FIFA Twitter account!
You can check out the EA Sports FC promo video via the Tweet below.
So, it seems that the transition from 'FIFA' to 'EA Sports FC' has been completed.
According to multiple reports, the name change of an EA Sports title called FIFA would come about because EA and FIFA cannot come to an agreement on cost and new revenue streams going forward.
Discussions on a new deal have been happening for two years, with FIFA wanting to more than double their current income from the game.
FIFA also wanted to limit other features that EA intended to implement in the game, including things like highlights of real-life football matches.
It looks as though EA and FIFA could not settle on an agreement and as a result, will be ending their partnership.
But what does this actually mean for the game itself?
EA Sports FC
Despite FIFA (the organisation) becoming synonymous with FIFA (the game), FIFA (the game) is not reliant on FIFA (the organisation).
The license with FIFA allows EA to use the organization’s name, logo and the rights to the World Cup, so if a deal isn't met, there won't be much difference in the game.
The biggest change to the game will be the loss of its FIFA title.
EA has registered two trademarks for the phrase "EA Sports F.C.", with this being the most likely new name.
According to DonkTrading on Twitter, the changes are happening in 2023, but the next title will still be called FIFA 23.
So, it looks like FIFA 23 will be the final title with the famous name.
Release Date
It's still a long way off, so we have no official release date for FIFA 23, but we still have a good idea of when to expect it.
FIFA 22 was fully launched on Friday, 1 October 2021, so if EA follows the same trend, then Friday, 30 September 2022 could be our FIFA 23 release date.
We expect to be able to access the game sooner than that via a possible Beta or Demo, then Early Access and the Web App.