EA has announced that FIFA 23 will not feature Russia’s national team or any Russian clubs, due to the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
In a statement provided to Eurogamer, the FIFA 23 developer has shared that “In line with our partners at FIFA and UEFA, EA Sports will not include the Russian national team or Russian clubs in FIFA 23.”
“EA Sports stands in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and like so many voices across the world of football, calls for peace and an end to the invasion of Ukraine,” added EA.
The message is a repeat of a statement issued by EA in March 2022. Weeks after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February, EA Sports joined the games industry’s condemnation of the military action by removing all Russian players and clubs from FIFA 22.
However, EA did not go as far as UEFA in removing Russian sponsors from advertising. Prominent advertisements for Gazprom – a Russian state-owned energy firm – were left in FIFA 22, despite UEFA ending its partnership with Gazprom in February.
At the time, EA told NME that it has “nothing specific to comment on regarding the exclusion of Russian sponsors.”
Beyond the lack of Russian teams, yesterday (July 21) EA shared a first look at what else FIFA 23 will bring – including women’s club football, a first for the series. The upcoming game – which will be EA’s last entry in the series – will also include new Hypermotion 2 technology and cross-play between PlayStation, Xbox and PC platforms.
In other gaming news, Pokimane has announced that she is taking a break from streaming in order to give herself time to focus on her mental health and real life. The streamer has not shared when she will return, but noted that she is looking forward to coming back to streaming “refreshed and ready to make more content.”
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