No FIFA, No Problem: EA Sports FC 24 Starts Better Than Last Year, EA Says

Electronic Arts has announced new launch statistics for EA Sports FC 24, and the game dropping the FIFA name apparently did not cause many issues in terms of attracting players. The game reached more than 11.3 million players in its first week, including people who tried the game through EA Play and didn’t necessarily buy it. For comparison, FIFA 23 had 10.3 million players during its first week.

Additionally, EA confirmed that FC Mobile reached 2.2 million downloads on launch day alone, and 11.2 million people during the game’s first 10 days on the market.

Some speculated that EA no longer having the FIFA name might impact sales, performance, or engagement. While we don’t know the full extent of how this year’s game compares to last year, and there are measurements beyond player numbers alone, it does seem based on players during launch week that EA Sports FC 24 is starting stronger than FIFA 23.

EA and FIFA ended their arrangement due to FIFA reportedly asking to pay EA a licensing fee of $1 billion to use the FIFA name. EA didn’t necessarily need FIFA, however, as the gaming publisher has its own licensing arrangements in place with football’s leagues, players, and communities that are represented in the game.

In a statement, EA Sports president Cam Weber said EA Sports FC 24 not only saw existing fans return, but “new” players rose by almost 20%.

Everyone who plays EA Sports FC 24 by November 1 will unlock FC Founder benefits, including in-game items and content for Ultimate Team. People who play EA Sports FC Mobile by November 30, meanwhile, will receive a Founders Pack that comes with an assortment of in-game items.

EA Sports FC 24 has not been without its detractors, though, as players have made their feelings known about the game’s $30 Ultimate Team loot box. EA’s sports games make huge sums of money from microtransactions and loot boxes from their Ultimate Team modes, and EA Sports FC 24 continues this trend.