To the disappointment of many, a number of online game servers will officially shut down in November 2023, including four beloved FIFA titles.
Electronic Arts, known by many as EA, are slowly moving away from the FIFA franchise after a three-decade long relationship with FIFA came to an end last year.
Back in February, it was announced that the online servers for FIFA 16 and FIFA 17 would be turned off on Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Playstation 4 and PC.
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And earlier this year, a host of games were added to the Online Services Shutdown list, including FIFA 18, FIFA 19, FIFA 20 and FIFA 21.
As you can see from the screenshot below, FIFA 18's online servers for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are scheduled to be discontinued on Monday, November 6, 2023 alongside its next three releases.
After the scheduled shut down, players will no longer be able to access online modes for any of the above editions, including Ultimate Team, but they can still play kick-off and career offline modes.
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Still, many fans remain devastated by the news.
"Today is the day," wrote X account @FIFA22_INFO. "The online servers for FIFA 18 - FIFA 21 will be getting shut down forever. End of a era."
A second fan wrote: "FIFA 19 was amazing man. I'll never stop praising how good that game was," while a third commented: "I still have 1 million coins in FIFA 19 & 20 that I was going to open packs with a few years later. It’s a shame that it all will disappear."
A fourth added: "FIFA 20 was goated. Lockdown would not have been the same without it."
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With the publisher distancing itself from the FIFA series, just over a month after the much-anticipated EA Sports FC 24 release, we are expecting the removal of FIFA 22's online servers in the not-so-distant future.
It was confirmed last year that EA Sports and FIFA would end their partnership after a nearly 30-year association.
In a statement on the official EA website, Cam Weber, EVP, Group GM EA SPORTS & Racing, announced the monumental change.
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"This new independent platform will bring fresh opportunity – to innovate, create and evolve. This is much more than just a change of symbol - as EA SPORTS, we’re committed to ensuring EA SPORTS FC is a symbol of change," he said.
"We’re dedicated to meaningfully reinvesting in the sport, and we’re excited to work with a large and increasing number of partners to expand to new authentic experiences that bring joy, inclusivity and immersion to a global community of fans. I look forward to sharing more detail on these plans in the coming months.
"EA SPORTS FC will allow us to realize this future and much more…but not before we deliver our most expansive game ever with our current naming rights partner, FIFA, for one more year.
"We are committed to ensuring the next FIFA is our best ever, with more features, game modes, World Cup content, clubs, leagues, competitions, and players than any FIFA title before."
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Featured Image Credit: EA Sports/FIFATopics: FIFA, EA Sports, EA Sports FC, Gaming