With FIFA 23 marking the end of the the football confederation’s partnership with EA, freshly re-elected FIFA president Gianni Infantino says the organisation will take on EA Sports in the football game world by launching a rival soccer series, and claiming it will “the best e-game for any girl or boy.”
Despite a long-standing creative partnership, in May 2022, EA Sports announced that it was separating from FIFA, reportedly owing to issues regarding licensing costs. FIFA 23 represents the final sports game made in cooperation between the two organisations, with future football games from EA to fall under the franchise title of ‘EA Sports FC.’
FIFA however plans to launch its own rival football game, with Gianni Infantino, recently elected to a third term as FIFA president, saying there will be news about the coming series very soon. Martyn Ziegler, chief sports reporter for The Times, shares a quote from Infantino during a press event marking his re-election.
“The new FIFA game – the FIFA 25, 26, 27 and so on – will always be the best e-game for any girl or boy,” Infantino says. “We will have news on this very soon.”
Based on our own FIFA 23 review, it’s arguable that the separation could work in EA Sports’ favour, giving the studio a chance to revitalise and freshen up a series which in recent years has grown a little stale. With Pro Evolution Soccer – PES eFootball as it’s now known – seemingly well behind its one-time rival, it will be good to see some different competitors on the football game field in the near future.
Check out some of the other best upcoming games for 2023 if you want to keep your eye on the future of sports sims. You might also want to bag the best FIFA 23 strikers for career mode, to give yourself the strongest shot at the treble.