EAhas no shortage of popular games under its belt, but the confirmation of an impending shutdown forFIFA 23knocks one of the biggest titles out of the equation. TheFIFAseries (nowEA Sports FC) has long enjoyed worldwide popularity, delivering yearly installments that follow a globally popular sport. Online services never last forever forFIFAgames, but that doesn’t make cuts exciting.
As revealed inEA’s running list of service shutdowns and reported byGame Rant,EA will be shutting down servers forFIFA 23on June 19, 2025.FIFA 23released on June 03, 2025, so this end of service will arrive a little over three years after the game’s release. While single-player functions of the game will still be playable, any online features and modes will cease to connect after this date.
EA Is Shutting Down FIFA 23 Servers On December 12
The Clock Is Ticking
One key online feature that will no longer be available after the server shutdown is Ultimate Team, which lets players compete against each other with a dream team of various football players.FIFA 23does have some local multiplayer features, so you could still play some games against human opponents if you have friends nearby, but options will be more limited after December 12.
This shutdown is notably faster than mostFIFAshutdowns were in the past, possibly due in part to EA losing theFIFAlicense and moving away from an emphasis on the branding. Various versions ofFIFA 16, 17, 18, 19,and20all sunset in 2023, showing how much longer some of these servers were allowed to live prior to that point. While many players have likely moved on toEA Sports FC 24or25by now, this will still be frustrating for those continuing to enjoyFIFA 23.
FIFA 23’s Server Shutdown Isn’t Fair To Players
Online games come with an understanding thatno server will last forever, and it would be hard to complain about aFIFAinstallment losing online servers when it was starting to fade into the past. Three years is hardly enough time for that development, however.It’s not the shortest lifespan of any sports gameby a long shot, but it would be nice to see a five-year cycle maintained to let players spend more time online.
FIFA 23still has daily peaks of over 2,000 players on Steam, as recorded onSteamDB, so despite flagging in popularity compared to its highest peaks, it absolutely sustains a community today. With the next game in the series being the first to bear theEA Sports FCtitle, it’ll be interesting to see if it receives a shutdown in 2025 or ends up being granted more longevity than the finalFIFA.
Historically,FIFAplayers have been more reluctant to make hardware leaps than software ones, andFIFAgames famously released on PS2 long after the system’s general departure from the market due to the franchise’s popularity in regions where thePS2 remained prevalent. Even so, the aggressive cycle of sports game releases can be a lot to keep up with, and letting players stick to older versions likeFIFA 23for a bit longer would be ideal.
