Rumours are already circling around EA Sports FC – it's not going to be called FIFA 23 after all.
The game has gone from strength to strength, with FIFA 23 having a record-breaking launch with over 10.3 million copies sold within its first week of its release. Now, EA Sports FC is looking to be even bigger and better than anything from the FIFA franchise, with the name changing this year.
Attention turns to updates across the next year of the game – which signals a bold new era for the game…
EA Sports FC release date, name change from FIFA 23, cover, Ultimate Team, features and everything we know so far
Release date
When is the release date for EA Sports FC?
Although little is known just yet, EA Sports FC is expected to drop in the autumn of 2022. EA are teasing that you can "join the club" from July, however.
FIFA has tended to become available for download from October onwards, with early access reserved for the middle of September. Whether EA change the format of the game or not, we can still expect that the schedule shall remain the same.
Pricing
Will EA FC be free to play?
For a number of years now, there has been talk about whether EA would move to a free-to-play structure, similar to games such as Fortnite.
Speculation intensified, too, when Konami took the step of rebranding their iconic Pro Evolution Soccer series into the free-to-play title, eFootball. eFootball gives users rolling updates to the franchise, such as new player ratings and kits, rather than producing a whole new game – and fans have questioned whether this is the direction that EA Sports FC will ultimately move in.
But while free-to-play titles with subscription-based features become the future for EA, there's no announcement just yet to suggest FIFA 23 is the last traditional release. Given the sales of FIFA 23, it would be extremely unlikely.
Name change
Why is FIFA 24 called EA Sports FC?
With the license of using the FIFA name coming to an end, EA have changed the name of the series – similar to Konami's eFootball.
This was hinted at in a press release from EA, with EA Sports GM Cam Weber claiming, "We’re reviewing our naming rights agreement with FIFA, which is separate from all our other official partnerships and licenses across the football world.”
Now, FIFA 23 has been announced as being called EA Sports FC.
EA have also recently renewed their deal with FIFPRO though, meaning that EA can continue using the "thousands of player names and likenesses" in the game.
Cover
Who will be on the cover of EA Sports FC?
As of yet, it's unknown who – if anyone – will be on the cover of the EA FC game.
For the last three instalments, Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe has been on the front of the game, though Sam Kerr joined him last year to mark the inclusion of domestic women's football in the game for the first time.
It seems as if EA have moved away from regional covers, however. In the past, a copy of FIFA bought in the UK would have a Premier League star, for example - such as FIFA 16's Jordan Henderson - but with downloads becoming more popular and physical sales of the game declining, it seems like that might be a thing of the past.
Features
What new features should we expect from EA Sports FC?
Hypermotion was the big headline for FIFA 22, given the move to next-gen consoles: expect the EA Sports FC series to develop more on that in the coming months and years.
Aside from that, it's a clean slate for the brand. With a new name comes potential for new features – with only "interactivity" being touted so far.
EA tend to work on three-year cycles when it comes to features in their games. The massively popular The Journey came in three separate installments, charting the rise of Alex Hunter, between FIFA 17 and FIFA 19, for example. The Volta mode, however, has been in the game for four years, though – perhaps since EA Sports FC was coming.
Expect the game to be largely untouched from the last one with a couple of big new features added.
Ultimate Team FC
What will Ultimate Team look like in EA Sports FC?
EA's big money-spinner Ultimate Team is expected to remain untouched – though it will be renamed EA Sports Ultimate Team FC.
FIFA's Ultimate Team has always been shortened to FUT – it seems as if the new game will see the acronym become UTFC.
