Fifa game franchise to end this year as EA Sports pulls plug on popular title

Gaming giant EA will stop making Fifa branded titles next year after terminating its agreement with the global football governing body.

EA Sports’ Fifa series has dominated the football gaming world since the first edition was released in 1993, however the final version will hit shelves in the autumn.

The developer will instead relaunch and rebrand the game as EA Sports FC – and claims to have more than 700 teams already signed up.

Separate licensing agreements mean EA (Electronic Arts) will likely retain the vast majority of rights for leagues and teams, including Uefa competitions, but future editions will not feature the men’s or women’s World Cups.

It also means game modes including Ultimate Team, Pro Clubs and VOLTA Football are likely to continue.

The highly-popular franchise ranks among the biggest selling of all time behind the likes of Mario, Pokemon, Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto, generating around $20bn (£16.2bn) over the past two decades according to some estimates.

An EA statement read: “We want to start by thanking this incredible community of more than 150 million fans for helping build the world’s biggest football entertainment platform.

“After nearly 30 years of creating genre-defining interactive football experiences, we will soon begin an exciting new era.

“Next year, EA Sports FC will become the future of football from EA Sports. Alongside our 300+ license partners across the sport, we’re ready to take global football experiences to new heights, on behalf of all football fans around the world.

“Everything you love about our games will be part of EA Sports FC – the same great experiences, modes, leagues, tournaments, clubs and athletes will be there. Ultimate Team, Career Mode, Pro Clubs and VOLTA Football will all be there.

“This new independent platform will bring fresh opportunity – to innovate, create and evolve. This is much more than just a change of symbol – as EA Sports, we’re committed to ensuring EA Sports FC is a symbol of change. [We] look forward to sharing more detail on these plans in the coming months.”