FIFA 23 | Pitch Notes - FIFA World Cup™

Hey everyone, we are Alex Constantinescu, Valentin Stanciu, Alex Marin, and Murad Mustafa from the EA SPORTS FIFA development team, and we’re excited to share lots of details about the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022™ experience in FIFA 23.

From Kick Off to FIFA Ultimate Team™, the FIFA World Cup™ experience can be played in many different ways, so let’s jump right in.

Table of Contents:

• FIFA World Cup™ Kick Off
• FIFA World Cup™ Tournaments
• Online Tournaments
• FIFA World Cup™: Live
• FIFA Ultimate Team™
• FIFA Ultimate Team™ FAQ

FIFA World Cup™ Kick Off

FIFA World Cup™ Kick Off gives you the chance to play against friends locally or against the CPU AI. You’ll be able to play in any stage of the competition and choose a side from any of the 32 qualified teams, or from any other national team available in FIFA 23.

FIFA World Cup™ 2022 Tournaments

In Tournaments, you can take your team through the whole FIFA World Cup™ journey, from the first group stage match all the way to the final, potentially lifting the trophy at Lusail Stadium. 

You’ll be able to customise your FIFA World Cup™ journey as the national teams featured in FIFA 23 that did not qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2022™ can be swapped into a Custom FIFA World Cup™ Tournament. Be it winning a semi-final at Al Bayt or lifting the trophy at the Lusail, the atmosphere will be electric in the two authentically-recreated official stadiums in the FIFA World Cup™ modes.

Online Tournament

In Online Tournaments you can compete against other FIFA World Cup™ players. Pick any international team available in FIFA 23 and try to win against four online opponents in the FIFA World Cup™ knockout stages to claim the famous trophy. 

Online Tournament cross-play will be available for players on the same platform generation.*

FIFA World Cup™: Live

As results start coming in after the opening match on November 20, the FIFA World Cup™: Live mode will be updated during the Group and Knockout Stage. Starting November 21, you’ll be able to monitor the progress of your favourite team inside the tournament and play through their fixtures in three different ways.

Featured Quickplay

You can select any past or present FIFA World Cup 2022™ fixture for which the two are already known, and play the match against friends locally or challenge the CPU AI.

Online Quickplay

In Online Quickplay, you can choose the fixture you want to play against a friend online. If you or your friend’s supported nation didn’t qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2022™ you can still face each other by choosing All National Teams and selecting any playable national team in FIFA 23. Online Quickplay supports cross-play as well, between friends on the same platform generation.*

Your FIFA World Cup™ 

As the tournament unfolds you’ll be able to inherit real world progress into a FIFA World Cup™ tournament save and take matters into your own hands, influencing the course of football history as you see fit. 

Pick your starting point from any past or current fixture and inherit real world results and statistics up to that point. As fixtures are updated with real results in FIFA World Cup™: Live, new starting points unlock for Your FIFA World Cup™. 

The Your FIFA World Cup™ mode will be available after the results from the first Match Day 1 fixture are updated in the game.

FIFA Ultimate Team™ 

Intro

As the FIFA World Cup™ takes place in November for the first time ever, we want to make sure that the FIFA World Cup feels lively within FIFA Ultimate Team™ in Season 2, and that it’s complementary to the real-time excitement of the tournament.

The FIFA World Cup™ in FUT will be a great opportunity for new players to start their FUT journey and for existing players to meaningfully upgrade their current squads. 

FIFA World Cup™ Player Items

Players selected in the 32 qualified national teams will receive a FIFA World Cup™ Player Item within FIFA Ultimate Team™, starting from Season 2 on November 11. You can earn your first squad of FIFA World Cup™ Player Items in the FIFA World Cup™ Starter Pack, which you earn and open when you first log in. 

There will be plenty of additional opportunities to earn FIFA World Cup™ Player Items during Season 2. Select Packs that you earn from rewards, as well as some Store Packs, will be refreshed to start including FIFA World Cup™ Player Items as guaranteed bonus content during Season 2 until December 23. This means that packs with FIFA World Cup™ Player Items will contain their usual content as well as the FIFA World Cup™ Player Items in addition. There will also be more FIFA World Cup™ Player Item Packs available in Milestone Objectives and as repeatable Squad Building Challenge rewards. These FIFA World Cup™ Items are time-limited content that expire at the end of the experience, and there are more details on that in the FAQ portion of this article below. 

Obtain FIFA World Cup™ Player Items to complete Swaps Objectives and other content in Season 2. Some FIFA World Cup™ Player Items may have increased Attributes compared to their base version, plus, the more FIFA World Cup™ Player Items you collect, the better your End of Event Rewards can potentially be (more on that below). These limited time FIFA World Cup Player Items are separate from the FIFA World Cup Player Items obtained through FUT Campaigns (more on that below).

FIFA World Cup™ Swaps

We are excited to share that FIFA World Cup™ Swaps will launch on November 11. Similar to ICON Swaps, you will be able to get FIFA World Cup™ Swaps Tokens that you can redeem for permanent pack content and special Player Items.

The majority of FIFA World Cup™ Swap Tokens will be earnable in Offline and Online Objectives that you complete using FIFA World Cup™ Player Items. You will also earn a token when you first log in from November 11 6 PM UTC - December 23 6 PM UTC. 

A permanently upgraded FIFA World Cup™ Star Player Item from each of the 32 nations at the FIFA World Cup™ will be available to redeem as part of FIFA World Cup™ Swaps rewards within Squad Building Challenges. Stay tuned in-game for more details regarding the other available rewards including Packs and Player Picks.

FIFA World Cup™ End of Event Rewards 

You can track the number of FIFA World Cup™ Player Items you earn in the FUT Main Menu on the new FIFA World Cup™ tile, which will appear in-game starting November 11. The tile also tracks Duplicate FIFA World Cup™ Player Items obtained.

The FIFA World Cup™ in-game tile will also show the 10 Reward Levels to progress through as you earn more FIFA World Cup™ Player Items. As you complete each level, you can unlock more rewards. If you complete all 10 Levels, you qualify for all available rewards which include packs and player picks. Only limited time World Cup Player Items count towards the End of Event Rewards. 

End of Event Rewards will be redeemable starting January 4, coinciding with when the FIFA World Cup™ Player Items expire and start being removed from your club, which is detailed further in the FAQ section of this article. FIFA World Cup™ Player Items gathered will no longer be tracked when rewards are ready for redemption, and the rewards can be redeemed from the FIFA World Cup™ tile itself.

FIFA World Cup™ FUT Campaigns

We’ll have a FIFA World Cup™ takeover during Season 2 of FUT. We have a range of campaigns and player programs planned that aim to help you follow the excitement of the tournament as it unfolds on the pitch, as well as celebrate special moments and performances. All of our campaign themed Items will be permanent within FUT 23, allowing you to continue to build squads with them even after the tournament has wrapped up. We look forward to sharing more details with you throughout the tournament. 

FIFA World Cup™ Heroes

FIFA World Cup™ Heroes are improved versions of select FUT Heroes, celebrating a key contribution they made in past FIFA World Cup™ tournaments. For the first time in the 14 year history of FUT, all FIFA World Cup™ Heroes will have unique Marvel illustrated images.

FIFA World Cup™ Heroes will be available in FUT across two team releases starting November 11. Similar to Campaign content, they will be permanent within FUT 23. They will replace their Base FUT Hero version while in packs. Some FIFA World Cup™ Heroes may only be available as Player SBCs or Objective rewards.

If you pre-ordered the FIFA 23 Ultimate Edition by August 21, you’ll receive your untradeable FIFA World Cup™ FUT 23 Hero Player Item starting November 11, 2022. This Player Item will be one of the 21 FIFA World Cup™ Heroes that are new to FUT 23, regardless of which Team Release they feature in. 

Stay tuned in-game for more information regarding other historical content plans during the FIFA World Cup™. 

FIFA ULTIMATE TEAM™ FAQ

Which players receive FIFA World Cup™ Player items?

Players selected for their national team’s FIFA World Cup™ squad receive a Limited Time FIFA World Cup™ Player Item.

The release of FIFA World Cup™ Player Items may include players that participated in the Qualifying stages of the FIFA World Cup ™. The pool of FIFA World Cup™ Player Items is subject to change, and may not include all players who will feature in the FIFA World Cup™. Players are expected to be added at a later time.

Player Items based on players who participated in the Qualifying stages of the FIFA World Cup™,but are not included in the final squads, will be removed from packs and rewards once we have locked in the final squad Player Items.

What are limited time FIFA World Cup™ Player items?

Limited time FIFA World Cup™ Player Items are special Player Items only available until January 4, 2023. Our intent with them is to help provide an exciting FIFA World Cup™ experience while players look to advance in their End Of Event Rewards. Starting January 4, 2023, these Items will be removed from FUT and every FUT club, and they will no longer exist in-game. It may take several days for all of these Player Items to be fully removed from FUT.

Will all FIFA World Cup™ content be limited time?

No, only the FIFA World Cup™ Player Items will be limited time. This will be marked by the blue timer icon on the bottom-right portion of the Item. All other FIFA World Cup™ Campaign Player Items and historical content will be permanent. 

How can FIFA World Cup™ Player Items be earned?

From November 11 until December 23, certain Reward Packs & Store Packs will be refreshed to include FIFA World Cup™ Player Items as bonus content. Plus, there will be more FIFA World Cup™ Player Item packs available in Objectives and SBCs during Season 2. 

Will the number of FIFA World Cup™ Player Items I have earned be tracked in-game?

Yes, every time you earn any FIFA World Cup™ Player Item (including Duplicate Items), they will be tracked within the FUT main menu FIFA World Cup™ tile. FIFA World Cup™ Player Items will stop being tracked on January 4. 

When can I redeem my End of Event Rewards?

You have one month to manually redeem your rewards from the FUT FIFA World Cup™ tile in-game starting January 4. After that, the rewards will be automatically redeemed. 

What happens if I open packs that include FIFA World Cup™ Player Items after January 4? 

If you open packs containing FIFA World Cup™ Player Items after they expire, they will not show up when you send them to your Club. Make sure to open all your FIFA World Cup™ Player Item packs before January 4.

When will I receive my Pre-order FIFA World Cup™ Hero Player Item?

If you pre-ordered the FIFA 23 Ultimate Edition by August 21, you’ll receive your untradeable FIFA World Cup™ FUT 23 Hero Pack starting November 11, 2022. This Pack will contain one out of the 21 FIFA World Cup™ Heroes that are new to FUT 23. It may take a few hours for the pack to show up in your account. 

*Cross-play enabled in certain modes on same-generation platforms. More info on cross-play at https://www.ea.com/games/fifa/fifa-23/news/pitch-notes-fifa-23-cross-play-deep-dive.

**All screenshots were captured on PlayStation 5

We hope you enjoy all the ways to experience the upcoming FIFA World Cup™ and we look forward to seeing you in-game. 

-The EA SPORTS FIFA Team

FIFA 23 is now available for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Stadia.

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* Requires FIFA 23 (sold separately), all game updates, internet connection & an EA Account.

** Conditions and restrictions apply. See https://www.ea.com/games/fifa/fifa-23/game-offer-and-disclaimers for details.

*** CONDITIONS, LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS APPLY. SEE EA.COM/EA-PLAY/TERMS FOR DETAILS.