Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine also has drastic consequences in the gaming and eSports sector: All Russian club teams and the national team will be removed from FIFA 22.
Manufacturer EA Sports announced this in a statement on Wednesday. “In consultation with our partners FIFA and UEFA, EA Sports has initiated a process to remove the Russian national team and all Russian clubs from all EA Sports FIFA products. This includes: FIFA 22, FIFA Mobile and FIFA Online. We are also investigating actively affecting other areas of our games,” the statement said.
The Canada-based game developer also stated, “We will keep our communities informed of the actions being taken and thank all players for their patience while we roll out these updates.”
Regarding the current events in Ukraine, the company found clear words: “EA Sports stands in solidarity with the Ukrainian people. Like many other voices from the world of football, we call for peace and an end to the invasion of Ukraine.”
FIFA 22: Impressive quarterly numbers from EA
Electronic Arts had recently reported impressive figures for the fourth quarter of 2021. Accordingly, the developer generated net sales of 1.789 billion US dollars in October, November and December, almost seven percent more than in the same period last year. Net income was $66 million.
According to the company, the EA network consists of 540 million unique and active accounts, which accounts for around 6.8 percent of the world’s population.
FIFA 22 is the 29th installment in the FIFA series and was released on October 1st, 2021. The “Ultimate Team” mode, in which players can put together their own team and compete with it, is particularly popular with the worldwide fan community.