Sam Kerr of Chelsea and Chloe Kelly of Manchester City featured in FIFA 23 gameplay
With the women’s game currently dominating the football agenda around the world through various international continental tournaments underway, EA Sports have announced that the latest edition of their FIFA gaming franchise will feature women’s club teams.
With the release of FIFA 23 this fall, for the first time, gamers will be able to choose from 24 women’s clubs in England‘s Barclays FA Women’s Super League and France’s top flight, D1 Arkema “extending its position as the ultimate authentic football experience.”
There will also be an option to experience the pinnacle of men’s and women’s international football by using post-launch updates at no additional cost to play FIFA Men’s and Women’s World Cup tournaments.
The move is timely for EA Sports as in May, the world’s governing body FIFA, announced it would end their 30-year partnership to create their own game series, taking its name with it. FIFA 23 will be the last edition created by EA Sports which will rebrand the franchise from 2023 to EA Sports FC.
Earlier this week, EA Sports also revealed that Chelsea and Australia forward Sam Kerr will be the first female player to appear on the global Ultimate Edition cover of the game alongside French World Cup winner Kylian Mbappé.
FIFA 23 Ultimate Edition global cover
Previously, World Cup winners United States, Alex Morgan, Canada, Christine Sinclair and Australia’s Steph Cately have appeared in the local edition of the FIFA 16 game released in their respective countries which was released worldwide in 18 different languages. The best-selling sports video game franchise according to the Guinness Book of World Records, by 2021, the game has sold 325 million copies globally.
EA Sports FC Senior Vice President and General Manager Nick Wlodyka claims “we have pushed the boundaries of realism at EA SPORTS FIFA 23 through HyperMotion2, using state-of-the-art technology to capture professional men’s and women’s teams in full-intensity matches translating millions of data points into new animations in real-time.”
“The result is the most natural and realistic movement in the game of football, and when combined with the inclusion of the men’s and women’s World Cup, women’s club football and cross-play features, will immerse football players and fans around the world for years to come. enjoy it. come.”
Instead of simply putting women’s names and faces into existing games, advances in HyperMotion2 technology have been used to create “new animations informed by real-life female player movements” that have been added to FIFA 23.
“I am delighted that the Barclays Women’s Super League will be one of the first women’s club competitions to be featured at EA SPORTS FIFA 23, with a franchise that has historically had one of the largest and most engaged gaming communities in the world,” said Navin Singh, Commercial Director of the Football Association. English ball.
She added that “the additional visibility a global brand like EA SPORTS will provide to our leagues, teams and players cannot be underestimated. This strongly supports our ambition to accelerate the growth of the women’s game in England, and highlights our commitment to opening up the Super League. Barclays women, and making them more accessible, to new audiences around the world.”
On the French equivalent, Francois Vasseur, Marketing Director of the French Football Federation said “this partnership between D1 Arkema and EA SPORTS is great news for the league, the club, the players, but also for the fans who, starting this year, will be able to find players. their favorites and participate in exclusive activations. This is a big step for D1 Arkema as a leading league with a worldwide following.”
The game will be released on all platforms on September 30th.
