Other attributes
EA Sports FC (formerly known as FIFA Football or FIFA) is a series of association football video games developed and released annually by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. As of 2011, the FIFA franchise has been localised into 18 languages and available in 51 countries. Listed in Guinness World Records as the best-selling sports video game franchise in the world, the FIFA series has sold over 325 million copies as of 2021.[5] On 10 May 2022, it was announced that EA and FIFA's partnership is set to come to an end after 30 years from July 2023 onwards; the series will be retitled EA Sports FC.[6] FIFA intends to enter a partnership with a new developer to produce "the real game that has the FIFA name".
Football video games such as Tehkan World Cup, Sensible Soccer, Kick Off and Match Day had been developed since the late 1980s, and were already competitive in the games market when EA Sports announced a football game as the next addition to their EA Sports label. When the series began with FIFA International Soccer on the Sega Mega Drive in late 1993, it was notable for being the first to have an official license from FIFA, the world governing body of football. The main series has been complemented by additional installments based on single major tournaments, such as the FIFA World Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA European Football Championship, as well as a series of football management titles. Since the 1990s, the franchise's main competitor has been Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) series (now known as eFootball).
As of FIFA 22, Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappé is the face of the franchise, appearing on the front cover of the series for the second consecutive year following FIFA 21 and in promotional campaigns and advertisements. He took over from Eden Hazard of Real Madrid who was the face of FIFA 20. Lionel Messi appeared on four straight covers from FIFA 13 to FIFA 16. Wayne Rooney appeared in seven covers of the series: every game from FIFA 06 to FIFA 12. Ronaldinho appeared alongside Rooney on four of these (FIFA 06 to FIFA 09), and he also appeared on the cover of FIFA Football 2004, FIFA Street and FIFA Street 3.[7] Since the release of FIFA Mobile in 2016, midfielder Kevin de Bruyne and forwards Marco Reus, Hazard, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Paulo Dybala, and Mbappé have appeared on the cover.[8]
FIFA 12 holds the record for the "fastest selling sports game ever" with over 3.2 million games sold and over $186 million generated at retail in its first week of release.[9] The franchise's latest release, FIFA 22, was released worldwide on 1 October 2021. It is available for multiple gaming systems, including the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S and Stadia.
