EA Sports has shocked fans by confirming that it’s the end of the road for one of its most popular video games.
It’s official – FIFA 23 will be the last ever instalment in the current FIFA franchise.
After nearly 30 years of manufacturing and evolving the game to what we know it to be today, the e-sports company is to end its licensing agreement with the international governing body for football following a recent review, and has confirmed this week that it would be releasing one more game with FIFA as its current naming rights partner
EA Sports will however still retain its league, player, and stadium naming rights – which are separate from the agreement with FIFA.
The upcoming, and now-final edition of the game produced by EA Sports in its current form, FIFA 23 – which is rumoured to be released this September – will feature the men’s and women’s FIFA World Cup competitions in one edition for the first time.
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The company added that FIFA 23 would be its “most expansive game ever”.
Fans can expect more features, game modes, World Cup content, clubs, leagues, competitions, and players “than any FIFA title before”.
While it may be the end of the decades-long partnership between EA Sports and FIFA, the e-sports company has now announced its new franchise, EA SPORTS FC – a new “independent platform” that, according to a statement released, is set to offer an opportunity to “innovate, create and evolve”.
EA Sports explained: “After nearly 30 years of creating genre-defining interactive football experiences, we will soon begin an exciting new era.
“Next year, EA SPORTS FC will become the future of football from EA SPORTS.”
FIFA 23 will be the last ever instalment in the current FIFA franchise / Credit: EA Sports
The company was quick to reassure football fans and gamers that: “Everything you love about our games will be part of EA SPORTS FC – the same great experiences, modes, leagues, tournaments, clubs and athletes will be there.
“Ultimate Team, Career Mode, Pro Clubs and VOLTA Football will all be there.”
EA SPORTS FC is due to launch in summer 2023.
Featured Image – EA Sports
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Drinks prices revealed as Manchester Airport’s first-ever Wetherspoons pub opens inside T2
Emily Sergeant
It’s official… Manchester Airport’s first-ever JD Wetherspoon pub has officially opened its doors inside Terminal 2.
The 300-seater pub – which welcomed its first customers earlier this week – is named The Belle Vue after Manchester’s historic showground.
Throughout the pub, you’ll spot design features that nod to the city’s sporting heritage – including vintage event posters and memorabilia, a ‘locker wall’ hosting trophies and other sporting exhibits, and a cricket-themed design in the carpets and bar panels.
Creating around 150 jobs in the process, The Belle Vue is the final planned new eatery to open in the airport’s redeveloped Terminal 2, marking one of the final steps in the super-terminal’s decade-long, £1.5bn transformation.
Manchester Airport’s first-ever Wetherspoons pub has opened inside Terminal 2 / Credit: Supplied
According to the MEN, pints are priced from £6.20 for Carling and Coors lager, £6.45 for Budweiser, £6.60 for Guinness, and £6.70 for Poretti and 1664 Biere.
Prosecco is £9.20 for 175ml glass and £37.10 for the full bottle, while spirts and mixers are £6.80 for singles and £10.20 for doubles.
There’s also the classic Wetherspoons tea and coffee machines, where you can refill as many times as you like for just £3.60.
“It’s a proud moment to see the final new retail unit opening in our new-look Terminal 2,” commented Richard Jackson, who is the Retail Director at Manchester Airport.
“To be rounding off this 10-year programme by adding such an iconic name as Wetherspoon to the terminal is particularly special and we know that it will prove extremely popular with passengers. We think they’ll love the nods to Manchester’s heritage in the décor and design – and of course the name.”
The Belle Vue will be open from the first flight to the final flight each day, and food will be served from opening until 10pm.
Featured Image – Supplied
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Iconic Manc movie 24 Hour Party People is set to return to cinemas for its anniversary
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s most iconic movies is set to return to the big screen next month.
Remastered in 4K and returning to UK cinemas to mark 24 years since its original release, Michael Winterbottom’s 2002 biographical comedy drama film, 24 Hour Party People, tells the story of Manchester‘s popular music community from 1976 to 1992 – specifically about Factory Records‘ founder Tony Wilson.
The film begins with the punk rock era of the late 1970s, before moving through the 1980s into the rave and DJ culture, and of course, the ‘Madchester‘ scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The narrative largely follows the career of Tony Wilson, played by Middleton-born actor Steve Coogan, while also covering the careers of the major Factory Records artists – especially Joy Division and New Order, as well as A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, and Happy Mondays.
If you haven’t seen 24 Hour Party People before, it’s a dramatisation based on a combination of real events, rumours, and urban legends, as the film is sure to make clear.
Coogan is joined by a cast by a mixture of big names and, at the time, rising stars like Paddy Considine, Shirley Henderson, Lennie James, John Simm, Ralf Little, Andy Serkis, Sean Harris, John Thomson, and even Peter Kay, alongside cameos from other figures connected to the Manchester music scene.
Before it returns to cinemas, the film will first open music and media festival/conference, Beyond The Music, at MediaCity in Salford on 6 October.
The screening at the festival will also be followed by a Q&A with Coogan, Winterbottom, and producer Andrew Eaton.
24 Hour Party People will then be re-released in UK cinemas from 9 October, and you can check your local cinema for screening times and book tickets online now.
Emily Sergeant -
11th May 2022 
