EA Sports has delisted almost the entirety of its FIFA game catalog from digital storefronts.
On September 26, Twitter user MauroNL spotted that the majority of the FIFA games have been removed from every digital storefront, including Steam, the Epic Games Store, PlayStation Store, the Microsoft Store, and the Nintendo eShop (via VGC).
That includes every major title from FIFA 14 up to FIFA 23, the latter of which only launched last year. However, it looks like FIFA 22 and FIFA 23 can still be played on EA Play - the publisher's subscription-based service where you can play games with a membership, similar to Xbox Game Pass.
EA's annual football game, now called EA FC, no longer sports the FIFA name in its title. All prior entries in the series have been delisted from all major storefronts.Every FIFA title from 14 up to 23 can't be purchased anymore. FIFA 22 & 23 can still be played via EA Play. pic.twitter.com/VupU3Off44September 26, 2023
If you head over to the official FIFA 23 website, there'll be a notice saying that the game is now available on EA Play, but as of writing the page hasn't been updated to reflect the removal of the digital storefront versions.
Clicking on the respective links will take you to an empty webpage. Meanwhile, over on Steam, there is a notice of the removal, but it doesn't explain the reasoning.
"At the request of the publisher, EA SPORTS FIFA 23 is unlisted on the Steam store and will not appear in search," the Steam notice reads.
SteamDB reveals that the game was removed on September 21 at the request of EA, one day before the early access launch of EA Sports FC 24.
EA split with FIFA in 2022, and as a result, the continued use of the FIFA name in the company's video game series had to be rebranded, with FIFA 23 being the final game in the thirty-year run of FIFA-branded EA titles. EA Sports FC 24 became the first entry in the newly renamed series.
It's unclear if the split has anything to do with the sudden removal of the FIFA titles from digital storefronts as EA has yet to officially comment.
EA Sports FC 24 officially launches on September 29 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
For more check out our list of the best PS5 games of 2023, as well as our top picks for the best PC games.
