Today is the day for news surrounding Electronic Arts. Earlier, we covered how EA has decided to pull the plug on the previously announced Titanfall Legends, the single-player variation of Apex Legends. Now we’re talking about how FIFA 23 is on track to be the most played and profitable entry in the series to date.
The prediction that this year’s FIFA title might be the franchise’s best yet must be a hard pill to swallow for EA as FIFA 23 will mark the end of the franchise under EA control. However, fans of the football genre and EA don’t have to worry that there won’t be future titles. While the series will be departing from EA, EA is re-launching the game this summer under the new EA Sports FC brand.
EA has assured fans of the long-running franchise that, other than the name change, the game will remain mostly unchanged. “Everything you love about our games will be part of EA Sports FC – the same great experiences, modes, leagues, tournaments, clubs and athletes.”
Last year a post in the New York Times suggested that this change from EA was caused by FIFA wanting more than double the amount of money it was currently receiving from EA for the latter to renew the license. This would amount to over $1 billion for each four-year World Cup cycle.
According to EA’s CEO Andrew Wilson, FIFA 23 is currently set to be the biggest title in franchise history, with year-to-date net bookings from the FIFA franchise having grown by 4% and in North America alone, unit sales are up 50% year over year. Direct sales of the game have also been tremendous, with over 10.3 million players in its first week alone.
Later this year, we should start to see the re-branding come to life over at EA. Hopefully, the publisher will be able to move past its FIFA name and licence to make EA Sports FC an even bigger success in the eyes of football lovers worldwide than FIFA 23. Still, we will have to wait and see.