Filed under:By Jon Porter, a reporter with five years of experience covering consumer tech releases, EU tech policy, online platforms, and mechanical keyboards.After almost 30 years and dozens of video games, 2024 will be the first year that EA releases its annual soccer game without any Fifa branding. Instead, this year’s game will be called EA Sports FC 24, after the video game developer announced in mid-2022 that it would be parting ways with the international governing body.EA is premiering a full gameplay trailer for EA Sports FC 24, following an earlier brief teaser. “30 years of packing the stands and putting you on the pitch, but it’s time to get closer,” was Daniel Kaluuya’s pitch for the game in the teaser’s dramatic voiceover, without revealing any specific gameplay additions.While EA moves away from the FIFA branding, the international football governing body is continuing to license out its name and launched a mobile game called AI League in April. FIFA has struck a defiant tone about the end of its partnership with EA. “I can assure you that the only authentic, real game that has the FIFA name will be the best one available for gamers and football fans,” said FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Jul 10Andrew WebsterThat’s EA Sports FC, if you’ve forgotten, and we’ll be getting gameplay and (presumably) a release date during a livestream on July 13th at 12:30PM ET. We’ll have all the news right here, but in the meantime, here’s a CG trailer that doesn’t reveal much of anything aside from a very dramatic voice over from Daniel Kaluuya.Jun 7Andrew WebsterIn the lead up to the debut of the FIFA-free EA Sports FC, the publisher has been announcing a number of deals with the likes of Juventus, the NWSL, and LaLiga. The latest: a multi-year renewal with CONMEBOL, the sport’s governing body in South America. The game is launching later this year, and so far all we’ve really seen is the new logo. More details are expected in July.Apr 6Andrew WebsterEA has officially unveiled the branding for its new soccer franchise EA Sports FC following a messy split with FIFA. It’s just a logo for now, and EA says fans will see it pop up in advertising across all of the big IRL soccer games this weekend. Also, there’s a website — and more news is expected in July, with a launch later in the year.Apr 3Andrew WebsterNow that EA and FIFA have officially separated, we’re getting details about both of their soccer video game futures. EA has its upcoming simulation EA Sports FC, while FIFA just launched a mobile game called AI League. It’s available now on Android in open beta (an iOS version is listed as “coming soon”).Developed by game studio Altered State Machine, AI League is described as a “4-on-4 casual football game, played between AI-controlled characters, with player input at fun and tactical moments. Players act as the coach and owner of their AI teams, with each AI footballer given unique AI traits that define their strengths and weaknesses. Players are able to collect and trade characters to create a team with their favorite talent combinations.”Aug 2, 2022Andrew WebsterFIFA 23 isn’t even out yet, but Electronic Arts is already preparing for its post-FIFA future. Today, the publisher announced a new deal with Spain’s LaLiga — which is home to iconic clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona — for a “one of a kind, multi-year partnership” that kicks off with the 2023–2024 season and will make EA the title sponsor for the league. That also happens to be the season in which EA will be ditching its longtime partner FIFA for a new soccer franchise called EA Sports FC, making FIFA 23 the last EA game with FIFA branding.According to EA, the new deal will include:May 10, 2022Jay PetersEA is officially dropping the FIFA branding for its hit soccer video games starting with next year’s release, the company announced Tuesday. The new title for the games will be EA Sports FC.Despite the name change, it sounds as if much of the DNA of the FIFA games will remain the same. “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,” EA’s Cam Weber said in a blog post. “Ultimate Team, Career Mode, Pro Clubs and Volta Football will all be there. Our unique licensing portfolio of more than 19,000+ players, 700+ teams, 100+ stadiums and 30 leagues that we’ve continued to invest in for decades will still be there, uniquely in EA Sports FC. That includes exclusive partnerships with the Premier League, LaLiga, Bundesliga, Serie A, the MLS — and more to come.”Feb 24, 2022Jon PorterIn newly-leaked comments, EA CEO Andrew Wilson has explained why the company is considering ending its licensing deal with FIFA. The comments come after EA publicly announced in October it was reviewing its agreement with FIFA, and considering renaming the title of its popular soccer franchise. The comments, which are the CEO’s most candid remarks yet, were made in a company meeting last November and made public in a report from VGC this week.Wilson suggested that EA feels its FIFA branding deal is unnecessarily restrictive, while not providing enough value to the company. “Basically, what we get from FIFA in a non-World Cup year is the four letters on the front of the box,” Wilson said. Although its FIFA deal gets EA access to the World Cup every four years, the company also has over 300 other licensing agreements which allow it to use the names and likenesses of players, teams, and leagues without needing a deal with FIFA. / Sign up for Verge Deals to get deals on products we've tested sent to your inbox daily.The Verge is a vox media network© 2023 Vox Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved