‘FIFA 23’ is officially the ‘FIFA’ series’ biggest-ever launch

FIFA 23 has earned the FIFA series its biggest-ever launch, EA has confirmed.

Released on September 30, FIFA 23 is the final instalment in the long-running football video game series, which is set to be renamed EA Sports FC from next year following the end of EA’s partnership with FIFA.

EA has now confirmed that over 10.3million players were registered on FIFA 23 within the first week, marking the biggest launch period in FIFA franchise history.

“The response from our fans has been nothing short of incredible, and we’re thrilled that our community is playing with their favourite players and teams across FIFA 23 in record numbers,” Nick Wlodyka, SVP and GM of EA Sports FC, said in a statement.

“With both the Men’s and Women’s World Cups, and exciting updates to our women’s club football content in game still yet to come, we’re just getting started on providing players with the most authentic and immersive experience yet.”

According to Gamesindustry.biz, physical sales of FIFA 23 – which has topped the UK’s physical gaming chart – are up 1.6 per cent compared to those of FIFA 22 in 2021, reversing two years of decline in retail sales for the FIFA franchise.

In our 4-star review, we said: “A few gripes aside, FIFA has rarely felt better. Thanks to the best Ultimate Team yet and immersive current-gen haptics that make you feel like you’re on the pitch, FIFA 23 is a stylish, expansive final bow for EA’s FIFA series as we know it.”

PlayStation 5 has become the dominant platform in terms of FIFA launch sales, with 41 per cent of all boxed copies being sold for the console. While 30 per cent of sales were for PS4 and 17 per cent for Xbox One, both Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch shared a 6 per cent share of sales.

Earlier this week, EA mistakenly released a FIFA 23 Hero Pack which briefly tanked the Ultimate Team economy.