One of the biggest clubs in the world is coming back to EA Sports’ FIFA games. Today, EA announced a “multi-year partnership” with Juventus that will once again see the Italian side featured in the developer’s wildly popular soccer video games. The deal will start with FIFA 23, which launches on September 30th. Juventus had previously been available exclusively in Konami’s rival series Pro Evolution Soccer for the past three years.
In addition to adding Juventus and its stadium and jerseys to the game, the deal also goes a step farther; EA says that the two sides will “work across a number of lifestyle and cultural initiatives bringing new opportunities outside of football,” while Juventus notes that EA will become its “official urban culture partner.” You can get a taste of what that might look like in the very dramatic reveal trailer above.
The news is particularly notable for the future. Starting in 2023, EA will be ditching its long-time partner FIFA for a newly branded franchise called EA Sports FC. The deal with Juventus appears to show that, despite the change in name, the series will continue to feature the biggest clubs in the world.
FIFA, for its part, says that it will continue to work with other developers on licensed games moving forward. “I can assure you that the only authentic, real game that has the FIFA name will be the best one available for gamers and football fans,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in May. “The FIFA name is the only global, original title. FIFA 23, FIFA 24, FIFA 25 and FIFA 26, and so on — the constant is the FIFA name, and it will remain forever and remain the best.”
EA showed off FIFA 23 for the first time last week while revealing a renewed focus on women’s soccer, including the addition of club teams from England and France.
