FIFA 23 gets free World Cup update next week on every platform except Nintendo Switch
EA has finally detailed the free World Cup update set to hit FIFA 23 on 9th November.
The update hits FIFA 23 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One – but Nintendo Switch is not on the list.
As with recent versions of FIFA on Nintendo Switch, FIFA 23 on Nintendo Switch is a “Legacy Edition”, which means it includes the same gameplay features from FIFA 22 Legacy Edition without any new development or significant enhancements.
The update lets you play as any of the 32 qualified nations in a recreation of the World Cup, but you can also customise the tournament to change the groups so teams who failed to qualify take part (come on, Ireland!). There’s an online tournament mode in which you can play through the knockout stages as any qualified nation.
Then, from 21st November to 18th December, a new “live” World Cup mode will be updated during the group and knockout stages, letting you play a single-player tournament along with real-world fixtures and squads for each game. You can play any past game to rewrite history and better real-world England’s inevitable disappointing result.
As for Ultimate Team, there’s no World Cup mode in FUT this time, unlike with previous World Cups. Instead, EA said to expect new campaigns from 11th November to 23rd December, with items that get progression upgrades based on each nation’s progress through the tournament.
Also in FUT, 30 World Cup Heroes cards, each with a custom World Cup-themed “Hero” shell, will be made available. EA said once the quarter finals kick off, it will release “World Cup FUT Phenoms”, which are about “uplifting the performances of some of football’s brightest stars”.
As the World Cup ends, EA will release a Team of the Tournament and award players who make the cut permanently boosted items.
It’s worth noting EA has confirmed the World Cup mode adds just two authentically-recreated official stadiums to FIFA 23, including the venue of the final, Lusail Stadium.
