EA Sports Has Revealed the Ultimate FIFA Soundtrack

Harnessing the hype around the upcoming EA SPORTS FIFA 23 World Cup 2022 update, London based production studio KODE and creative company 20something came together again to help EA SPORTS launch the search for the Ultimate FIFA Soundtrack. 

Since its introduction in the EA SPORTS FIFA 98 Road To The World Cup edition, the EA SPORTS FIFA soundtrack has defined the game and player experience. Reaching beyond the game, the soundtracks have become a defining sound of broader football culture. The inevitable phrase, “That’s a FIFA song” has become part of our everyday vocabulary. The impact of EA SPORTS FIFA Soundtracks can be seen in the careers and popularity of artists featured in the game; FIFA 21 saw a meteoric rise for band Glass Animals, whose song Heat Waves recently rocketed to over 2 billion plays on Spotify. 

“For the past quarter century, EA SPORTS FIFA has been a destination for new music from up-and-coming artists and superstars alike. Every fan has their favourite FIFA tracks, and this playlist is the ultimate celebration of the music that has defined discovery, diversity, and excellence for generations of gamers,” said Steve Schnur, president, music at EA. “Originally, FIFA soundtracks reflected global culture. Then they began to influence culture. The Ultimate FIFA Soundtrack proves how and why they’ve become culture.”

EA SPORTS asked players to choose their FIFA anthem, the song that to them most represents everything they love about the game. With the creative conceptualised and led by EA SPORTS and 20something, and produced through KODE by director Harry Cauty, the films are a call-to-action for players worldwide to crown the most iconic FIFA songs, to create the Ultimate FIFA Soundtrack. 

The first of two films launched last week, with a taste of EA SPORTS FIFA nostalgia spanning the past 25 years. The film featured throwbacks to old in-game FIFA graphics. Fans messaged and called into a pirate radio station ‘23FM’ to battle it out on behalf of their favourite tracks from over the years. The film features iconic songs such as Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves”, Sofi Tukker’s “Best Friend”, Muse’s “Supermassive Black Hole” and Ceasers’ “Jerk It Out”. Fans were invited to 'back their track' by streaming it on Spotify via a personalised playlist experience and nominate it with the #UltimateFIFAsoundtrack across social media. Today the nominations are in and the second film in the campaign launches, revealing the selected 40 artists who will be returning in the EA SPORTS FIFA 23 World Cup update. Appropriately Blur 'Song 2' where it all began in 1998 was the first song revealed.

Cathryn Carey, creative, 20something, says: “Once we got this brief we knew we had to put fans at the centre of this campaign and recreate the banter and debate we knew was inevitable with the kick off of the Ultimate Soundtrack. The pirate radio station gave us the perfect platform to capture this buzz and was a natural way to celebrate the nostalgic tracks that remind us of FIFA.”

Harry Cauty, director, KODE, said: “We had a mad vision for these films in which Julie hosts a global debate from her top floor pirate radio HQ, with people dialling in from all over. I wanted to create a world that felt independent and uncensored, with a level of detail that meant Julie could really embody the role. Oian Arteta took an abandoned flat and turned it into a purist paradise, with set dressing that nods to years of music and football. Music is what drives this campaign, but we see cameos from gaming, sports, music and animation. I’ve always been a big Jamie Hewlett fan so speaking with his team and using a Gorillaz animation in the film feels like a win in itself. The cast really gave it their all on set, and the energy that Julie put into bringing her role to life was infectious.”