Electronic Arts’ latest press release says FIFA 23 had a record-breaking opening week and saw over 10.3 million players within the first seven days of launch worldwide. EA says this makes FIFA 23 the biggest launch in the franchise’s history. The record belonged to FIFA 22 with 9.1 million downloads but the latest FIFA release managed to beat this number and dethroned its predecessor.
Related: EA Sports and FIFA end the long-running video game partnership
FIFA 23 has over 300 partners, 19,000 players, 700 teams, 100 stadiums, and 30 leagues across the world and no other football (or soccer) game ever comes close to EA’s spectacular title, at least in terms of licensing and marketing power. EA Sports also holds the licenses for all three UEFA club competitions (Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League), as well as CONMEBOL Libertadores and Sudamericana. FIFA 23 also features both Men’s and Women’s FIFA World Cup tournaments. The gaming giant prepares special game modes and in-game events in correlation with these competitions and includes them in single-player modes, also known as career modes.
Nick Wlodyka, SVP, GM of EA Sports FC said, “The response from our fans has been nothing short of incredible, and we’re thrilled that our community is playing with their favorite players and teams across FIFA 23 in record numbers,” and added, “With both the Men’s and Women’s World Cups, and exciting updates to our women’s club football content in-game still yet to come, we’re just getting started on providing players with the most authentic and immersive experience yet.“
EA Sports is often criticized by children’s groups and anti-gambling organizations for how it uses loot boxes in its popular competitive game mode FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT). EA responded to these claims back in mid-August and said “Giving players the choice to spend if they want to is fair”
EA Sports also partnered with Marvel to turn football’s legends into Marvel-style superheroes in FUT. This feature will see football legends return as Marvel-style superheroes and they’ll be present in the competitive game mode. The gaming giant also brought Jason Sudeikis’ Ted Lasso and AFC Richmond (a fictional English football team) to FIFA 23.
FIFA 23 is available worldwide on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
