FIFA, also known as FIFA Football or FIFA Soccer, is a series of association football video games or football simulator, released annually by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. Football video games such as Sensible Soccer, Kick Off and Match Day had been developed since the late 1980s and already competitive in the games market when EA Sports announced a football game as the next addition to their EA Sports label.
When the series began in late 1993, it was notable for being the first to have an official licence from FIFA, the world governing body of football. The latest installments in the series contain many exclusively licensed leagues including leagues and teams from around the world, including the German Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga, English Premier League and Football League, Italian Serie A and Serie B, Spanish La Liga and Segunda DivisiÃŗn, Portuguese Primeira Liga, French Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, Turkish SÃŧper Lig, Dutch Eredivisie, Mexican Liga MX, American Major League Soccer, South Korean K-League, Saudi Professional League, Australian A-League, Chilean Primera DivisiÃŗn, Brazilian Campeonato SÊrie A and Argentine Superliga Argentina, allowing the use of real leagues, clubs and player names and likenesses within the games. In addition, internationally popular clubs from around the world, including some teams from Greece and South Africa, without those nations’ entire leagues. The main series has been complemented by additional installments based on single major tournaments, such as the FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Football Championship and UEFA Champions League, as well as a series of football management titles.
As of FIFA 18, Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid is the face of the franchise, appearing on the front cover of the series and in promotional campaigns and advertisements. Lionel Messi appeared on four straight covers from FIFA 13 to FIFA 16. Since the release of FIFA Mobile, Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard appears on the cover.
As of 2011, the FIFA franchise has been localised into 18 languages and available in 51 countries. By 2010 the series had sold more than 100 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling sports video game franchise in the world, and one of the best-selling video game franchises. Also, FIFA 12 holds the record for the “fastest selling sports game ever” with over 3.2 million games sold and over $186 million generated at retail in its first week of release.
The franchise’s latest release, FIFA 18, was released worldwide on September 29, 2017. It is available for multiple gaming systems, including the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and among many other systems.
