FIFA 23 had the best start in the history of the long-running series, EA has announced. The game reached more than 10.3 million players during its first week, setting a record for the “biggest launch period” in the history of the FIFA series. Of note, FIFA 23 is the final entry in the series from EA bearing that name. 2023’s game will be called EA Sports FC due to EA and FIFA breaking up.
2022 is a huge year for football, with the men’s and women’s World Cups taking place in the next year, so FIFA 23 is surely set to grow much bigger still. FIFA 23 didn’t necessarily sell 10 million copies in its first week, as the game is also available via a free trial.
This year’s FIFA game also pushed further into wider popular culture with its crossover with the fictional football team AFC Richmond. Manager Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) is featured in the game alongside the roster of players from the Apple TV+ series.
The men’s and women’s World Cups will be added to FIFA 23 for free later down the road. The men’s World Cup takes place this November in Qatar while the women’s World Cup is slated for July 2023 in Australia and New Zealand.
EA and FIFA have ended their partnership for the video game series, but next year’s EA Sports FC will still have the same or a similar lineup of players, teams, and stadiums because EA has other licensing deals in place. FIFA was reportedly asking EA to pay $1 billion to use the FIFA name in its games, a fee it would need to pay every four years to continue their relationship.
As for FIFA, president Gianni Infantino confirmed that FIFA is, for the first time, working with a range of third-party studios and publishers to provide “more choice” beyond aligning with a single company, EA, as it has done in the past.
“I can assure you that the only authentic, real game that has the FIFA name will be the best one available for gamers and football fans. The FIFA name is the only global, original title. FIFA 23, FIFA 24, FIFA 25 and FIFA 26, and so on–the constant is the FIFA name and it will remain forever and remain THE BEST,” Infantino said.
GameSpot’s FIFA 23 review scored the game a 7/10.
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