As reported by the New York Times on Wednesday, gaming giant EA Sports and world football governing body FIFA have parted ways.
The partnership dated back to 1993, when FIFA International Soccer was launched for the SEGA Genesis.
Their current partnership was set to expire at the conclusion of the Qatar World Cup, with a new deal aiming to branch out into new areas – including NFTs.
It was reported that EA made a ‘significant offer’ for an eight-year exclusivity deal with FIFA for all of its Esports and gaming rights. However, the deal was knocked back, according to Reuters, as FIFA did not want the rights all with one company.
FIFA 23 will be the last game made in collaboration between the two organisations, set to release in late September this year, worldwide.
The FIFA series was estimated at the start of 2021 to have sold over 325 million units, according to Forbes. FIFA 18 is the equal 40th highest selling video game of all time, estimated at 24 million units across all platforms.
FIFA confirmed it would still produce video games with third party developers, while EA will rebrand the FIFA series under the title EA Sports FC. The new series would include licensees such as the Premier League and LaLiga, which at this stage has authentic coverage, as all players are face scanned and the full broadcast packages akin to real life are featured in the game.
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