Studio EA Sports announced a new part of the football simulator, called FIFA 23. This is the last game in the series, because Electronic Arts and the International Football Federation did not reach an agreement on licensing and are ending almost thirty years of cooperation. From next year, the game will be called EA Sports FC, but it will still be able to play the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, which will take place from July 20 to August 20.
In FIFA 23 itself, in addition to the traditional men's teams and competitions, a lot of attention is also paid to women's football. The game will now feature women's club teams from the top leagues in England and France, as well as women's and men's competitions at the 2022 Qatar World Cup and the 2023 Australia/New Zealand World Cup.
Women's international teams have been available in Electronic Arts' FIFA games since 2016, but FIFA 23 will be the first game in the series to feature women's club teams. The two leagues are nowhere near the dozens available for men's soccer, but it looks like EA plans to add more through future updates.
"We're committed to building an equitable experience and aspire to help grow women's football," said FIFA 23's Matt Lafreniere.
In addition to the women's leagues, FIFA 23 will also feature greater cross-platform play and more "realistic" gameplay thanks to HyperMotion2, EA said. This technology applies machine learning to motion capture data to create smoother player movements during gameplay.
FIFA 23 is scheduled for release on September 30, 2022.