FIFA 23’s release date is confirmed – here’s everything we know

EA Sports has officially confirmed its release date as well as the next two cover stars for FIFA 23, with a launch date in September 2022.

Ever since the news that EA Sports has ended its relationship with FIFA, what is most uncertain is what direction the series will go in next. We do know that the next game will be the last associated with the football federation and now it’s been confirmed the next game will be titled FIFA 23, following on from existing naming conventions of the series.

After that, Electronic Arts plans on renaming the franchise EA Sports FC, and while not quite as catchy, it does distinguish the games publisher from the current relationship between the two organisations. EA Sports has assured fans that existing licensing deals and partnerships with some of the world’s biggest football clubs will remain in place, and there are hundreds of them.

As far as new features goes, we already have some idea based on the latest trailer. FIFA 22 recently started testing crossplay features – meaning that Xbox gamers and Playstation gamers could finally compete head-to-head – which would indicate that the next entry could have further crossplay support built in from the beginning. This would be welcome news to anyone looking to play with friends on different consoles regardless of whether they own a Playstation 5 or an Xbox series X/S.

If you want to find out more about when FIFA 23 is going to be released, how much it will cost and what features we can expect to see, then keep reading the rest of the article below.

When will ‘FIFA 23’ be released?

EA Sports has announced that the last FIFA title will be released on 30 September 2022 on PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Google Stadia, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.

In the trailer, we saw a brief glimpse of some of the new features we can expect to see, including “Hypermotion2” an updated version of the animation system that made its debut in the last FIFA title.

Who will be the ‘FIFA 23’ cover star?

EA Sports has officially revealed its cover stars as Chelsea forward, Sam Kerr, and returning Paris Saint-Germain forward, Kylian Mbappé, who previously appeared on the cover of the last two FIFA games.

Sam Kerr’s cover star reveal is a big deal for the franchise, as it’s the first time that a female player has graced the box.

“It’s an honour and a dream come true to be on the cover of FIFA 23,” said Sam Kerr. “It’s been incredible to work with Kylian and the whole EA Sports team, and I can’t wait for fans to get their hands on a copy of the game.”

Will the game still be called ‘FIFA 23’?

When the announcement of EA Sport’s partnership with FIFA was made, Andrew Wilson, CEO of Electronic Arts made a statement, saying: “The introduction of EA Sports FC will not impact any current EA Sports global football games, and EA and FIFA are excited to deliver the greatest, most expansive game ever later this fall.”

This has seemingly been confirmed with the announcement of FIFA 23’s cover stars as well.

The update from EA Sports also confirmed that fan favourite game modes such as Ultimate Team, Career Mode, Pro Clubs and VOLTA Football will all be returning to the next installment, as well as unique players, teams, stadiums and 30 football leagues from around the world.

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But from 2023 onwards, the series will be known as EA Sports FC, with the publisher confirming we will hear more details about the changes in Summer 2023.

Will ‘FIFA 23’be free-to-play?

It’s been heavily rumoured that the final FIFA title could go free-to-play, meaning that players will be able to download and play for free with microtransactions included. Konami’s recently relaunched eFootball series has been hot on FIFA’s heels since it adopted the free-to-play model, so there is a chance that we could see it happen with EA’s series.

We’ve already seen that EA’s upcoming Skate title is also adopting the free-to-play model, so there’s a chance we could see elements of FIFA 23 go a similar route as well.

However, we think it’s more likely that certain features, such as FIFA Ultimate Team,will be free to play while the full game will still need to be purchased to access all the content. Other popular titles such as Call of Duty have adopted a similar model, with Warzone being a free-to-play battle royale mode for the game, as well as Halo Infinite, where online multiplayer is free.

Which platforms will ‘FIFA 23’ be released on?

FIFA 22 was released on PC, PS4, PS5, Google Stadia, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S last year. We can definitely expect to see FIFA 23 on PS5, Xbox series X/S and PC and it looks like that it will also appear on last generation consoles as well. It doesn’t appear that the game will be available on Nintendo Switch at the time of writing.

The Nintendo Switch versions of FIFA, titled “legacy edition”, is essentially the same game as previous titles (dating back to FIFA 19) with updated team rosters, kits and idents to reflect the game’s new name. Don’t expect much in the way of innovation if EA Sports decide to go the same route with FIFA 23.

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As for PS4 and Xbox One users, we would be surprised to see them discounted from the latest entry. After all, FIFA is one of the most popular gaming franchises around the globe and people are still struggling to get their hands on a PS5 or an Xbox series X, it would seem unlikely that last-gen users would be left behind. But as we’re starting to see with other upcoming releases, such as Gotham Knights, developers are beginning to move on from the older consoles to focus on next-gen experiences.

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Want to find out more about EA’s next football game? Read more about FIFA and EA Sport’s ending their partnership