"We're grateful for the many years of partnership in the world of FIFA," EA CEO Andrew Wilson said in a statement. "The future of football in the world is extremely bright, and the worldwide fanbase is never stronger. We have an amazing chance to place EA Sports FC at the forefront of the game and to bring even better and more authentic experiences to the growing football community."
The upcoming FIFA-free soccer game by EA will include "more than 300 individual licensed partners, giving players access to more than 19,000 athletes from 700 teams, across 100 stadiums and over 30 leagues in the world Mut 23 Coins." Those partners include major international leagues such as that of the Premier League, LaLiga, Bundesliga, UEFA, CONMEBOL and many more.
Other than the title of the game's cover the new released game will also be missing any official reference on the World Cup, the quadrennial international sporting event organized by FIFA. EA joined forces with FIFA to launch brand-named FIFA World Cup titles every four years between 1998 and 2014 and also introduced a new World Cup mode to its profitable Ultimate Team digital card game for FIFA 14. The integration was expanded to a wider World Cup update in FIFA 18.
It is believed that FIFA 23--which will launch later this year and will be EA's final title under the FIFA license--will expand on the World Cup mode and include the Women's World Cup for the first time in the history of the franchise. "Our final FIFA product will include more game modes and features, teams leagues, players and competitions than in any previous edition," EA said in an announcement.
The split between EA and FIFA doesn't come as a complete surprise. The gaming giant-publisher has publicly stated that it would be "reviewing our name rights agreement with FIFA" in October of last year amid reports of clashes regarding the cost of licensing and exclusivity Cheap Madden 23 Coins. A February report suggests that Wilson informed EA employees that the FIFA license had "precluded our capability expand into areas where players are interested" with regard to gaming.