The FIFA series is no longer available for purchase in EA's digital storefronts

It appears that EA has decided to remove all FIFA series games from digital stores just a few days before the release of EA Sports 24.

A user with the username nolifebr on the ResetEra forum noticed that all previous versions of FIFA, including last year's FIFA 23, are no longer available for purchase on platforms such as PlayStation Store, Steam, and Nintendo eShop.

However, nolifebr pointed out that FIFA 23 can still be obtained through EA Play. This means that if you have a subscription to this service or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (which also includes EA Play), you can still play the previous year's version.

As of now, EA has not made an official statement regarding the removal of the FIFA series from digital stores, but it is likely related to the same licensing issues that led to the series name change.

In May of last year, it was announced that the FIFA series would change its name to EA Sports FC starting with the 2023 release of this highly anticipated football series.

Neither EA nor FIFA have disclosed the official reason for this change, but at the time, it was reported that FIFA was demanding excessively high licensing fees from EA, and the studio (quite reasonably) refused to comply.

So, the current release, set to launch on Friday, will be called EA Sports FC 24, not FIFA 24. Otherwise, it's the same series with similar gameplay and visual style.

Many FIFA fans will likely transition to EA Sports FC 24 immediately after its release, but the removal of all previous FIFA versions from digital stores is a blow to the preservation of the series' history, despite everything.

We have reached out to EA for a comment on this news and will inform you once we receive a response. As of now, EA Sports FC 24 is expected to be released on September 29th.