One of the most iconic sports video games will soon no longer exist, at least as it’s now known.
On Tuesday, video game giant Electronic Arts announced it will be changing the name of its popular FIFA game to EA Sports FC after it and FIFA — soccer’s global governing body — could not come to an agreement to extend a partnership that has existed for nearly 30 years.
The partnership will expire in July 2023, meaning one more game under the FIFA branding will be released, the announcement said.
Tuesday’s announcement said that because of separate licensing agreements with players, teams, stadiums and leagues, much of the game will remain the same.
That said, The New York Times’ Tariq Panja reported Tuesday that “the World Cup itself and other FIFA-controlled events will no longer be included.”
Panja reported that negotiations over the last several months have been “tense” and that “the writing had been on the wall for a split for months.”