EA Sports delists FIFA 23 and older FIFA games without warning ahead of EA FC 24 launch
EA Sports removed FIFA 23 from digital stores on Tuesday, less than three days before successor EA Sports FC 24's full release without prior warning, making the latest FIFA game unavailable for purchase.
The last game with the FIFA branding and previous titles in the FIFA series, including FIFA 19, 20, 21, and 22, are now delisted from Steam, PlayStation Store, Microsoft Store, and Nintendo eShop.
The only way to get started with FIFA 23 and FIFA 22 for players who did not own the games prior to the delisting, is via the EA Play and Xbox Game Pass subscription services. Players who have already purchased the FIFA games can still play them with no problems, as the servers for the latest six games in the series are still running.
The delisted FIFA games are still playable, but can no longer be purchased via digital stores.
EA Sports
The unannounced delisting of FIFA games, including the latest and last FIFA 23, which is less than a year old, is likely due to the series' rebranding following the termination of the decades-long partnership between publisher EA Sports and soccer's top governing body FIFA.
In 2022, EA Sports and FIFA announced they were ending their licensing agreement for the use of the FIFA name, prompting a swift rebranding of the most popular soccer video game series, which is now known as EA Sports FC.
The first game in the rebranded series, EA Sports FC 24, is already playable by owners of its Ultimate Edition, and the game's wide release date is set for September 29, 2023.
EA Sports frequently removes outdated FIFA games from digital storefronts, but this time the delisting comes as a surprise because it happens less than a year after FIFA 23's release and even a couple of days before its successor EA FC 24 is fully out.
Some players tend to delay their purchase of the latest game and opt to buy the previous version at a discount instead, as gameplay changes between the annual releases tend to be incremental.
If you're still on the fence about purchasing the first entry in the rebranded EA Sports FC series, check out our EA Sports FC 24 review.
