FIFA 23 is the biggest launch ever - can the growth continue?

EA Sports launched FIFA 2023 this autumn, to great expectations from gamers around the world. Over the years, the game series has become a crowd favourite, with the latest edition bo asting record numbers of players . EA Sports has reported over 10 million players in the first week, over a million more than last year's edition.

As eSports has established itself as one of the biggest sports in the world, competition and awareness of FIFA has also grown considerably. Millions of people play FIFA every day, and there has also been a surge of interest in tournaments where professional players meet and compete for big cash prizes. You can also bet on the winner of tournaments and matches with esports betting.

FIFA - where do we go from here?

As a result of the technological revolution, EA Sports has greatly improved the FIFA game over the years with highly realistic graphics and interactive game modes both online and offline. To be competitive in the game, you need tactical expertise, player knowledge and coordination that makes for great entertainment and football learning. In the past, the difference between winning and losing was the quality of your team, but today it's more about your skills.

EA Sports and FIFA have been working together for years, dating back to the first edition of FIFA in 1993. Since then, football stars around the world have started playing FIFA themselves, with many of them actually filming themselves playing and having continuous promotions. This is excellent marketing for EA Sports and it has ensured that they have been the market leader for many years.

More recently, FIFA also launched women's national teams, which has contributed to gender equality and greater interest in women's football. In addition, the game "Heroes" features editions of retired legends, which has led to very positive feedback.

Much to the surprise of many, Electronic Arts (EA) recently announced that this year's edition of the game will be the last to include the FIFA brand. The deal between the two will officially end in July 2023, and the game's name will change to "EA Sports FC". The question everyone is asking now is how will this breakup affect the popular game going forward?

FIFA has ambitions of its own

EA Sports claims the break with FIFA will not affect the future, but rather will offer new innovations and opportunities. You can continue to play EA Sports on various consoles such as PS4/PS5, Xbox and PC, but the split between EA Sports and FIFA will still mean change and new competition for EA Sports. However, how will it affect players?

After years of a lucrative partnership agreement with FIFA, there was a divorce allegedly after tough negotiations where FIFA demanded higher licence fees from EA Sports. It's no secret that FIFA's power lies in its brand and status, and rumours are swirling that FIFA wants more control by building its own football game after 2023, which will compete with EA Sports. FIFA is currently in discussions with several game designers and investors to realise this.

FIFA vs EA Sports

We are excited to see the gaming giants compete against each other, which will basically benefit gamers, but who will manage to attract the most players? The sales revenue over the last 20 years has been over $20 billion, so we're not talking about pennies. FIFA has the brand, while EA Sports has the technology. In addition, EA Sports has built up a reputable portfolio of its own non-FIFA licensing deals, including UEFA (the European Football Association), leagues and club teams around the world.

With around 300 separate licensing agreements, EA Sports seems to have anticipated this divorce in advance and prepared well for the divorce with FIFA. The gaming company is therefore confident and assured of bringing existing players over to its new brand.