FIFA 23 rename looks inevitable – but its potential new name sucks

techradar.com:

EA Sports is moving ahead with its plans to drop the 'FIFA' moniker from its soccer sim series, according to a new report. 

We already knew that the developer was «exploring» the possibility of renaming its FIFA game series but, according to a report by VentureBeat's Jeff Grubb, EA Sports is now moving forward with its plans to drop the FIFA name.

According to Grubb's sources, EA is making the major move as it no longer wants to «pay a premium» to license the FIFA name, with Grubb claiming FIFA has asked EA for $1 billion to keep hold of the 'FIFA' moniker. 

So what will the FIFA game series be called instead? According to Grubb, the developer is going with the name 'EA Sports FC'. This doesn't come as a huge surprise as trademark applications for the name 'EA Sports FC' were spotted by VGC in October 2021, shortly before EA Sports announced it was exploring dropping the FIFA name. 

That means that FIFA 23 could be called EA Sports FC, or some variation of it  – it remains unclear if the renaming will see the developer drop the numbers entirely.

What's more, FIFA updated its trademark earlier this month, with the filing mentioning video games among its merchandise. While this could suggest FIFA may have plans to release its own game series (or continue the FIFA series on its own), the filing does cover everything from industrial oils and greases to insurance, so its more likely the organization simply wants to cover its bases to stop anyone from using its name.

It looks inevitable at this point that EA Sports will drop the FIFA name and, to be honest, I don't blame them. 

The FIFA game series has arguably outgrown the name and, as EA has previously stated, the naming rights for the FIFA series are separate from its other