EA Sports has announced that it will begin testing cross-platform multiplayer in FIFA 22 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Google Stadia. No exact date beyond “the near future” has been given by EA, but the publisher did confirm that the testing will cover matches in the Online Seasons and Online Friendlies mode of the soccer game.
“While we want to enable our players to play with as many friends and others as possible, we limited the test to these two modes with the aim of reducing the chance for introducing new issues into the game,” EA Vancouver’s Goran Popovic said in an FAQ. “We are confident that the game data and feedback that we get from these two modes will help inform how cross-play could further be implemented in future titles.”
When FIFA 22 is updated for the cross-play test, players will be able to opt in and out through a widget located at the bottom right-hand corner of the main menu. A few button prompts later, and you’ll be able to play against your fellow gamers on other platforms.
The absence of cross-platform play in FIFA has been an odd absent feature, especially when compared to other major multiplayer games that support it. The audience for FIFA 22 will likely grow now that it is available through the PS Plus subscription service this month, although this version is the PS4 edition that’s backwards compatible on PS5.
FIFA’s future at EA is also in question, as the publisher’s CEO Andrew Wilson revealed more about the potential split in an internal meeting. Wilson said that EA’s popular football games could actually be better off without its long-term FIFA partnership.
The current 10-year naming and licensing deal with FIFA expires at the end of 2022 after the Qatar World Cup. While EA’s next game will still likely release as FIFA 23, any subsequent games could be released under a new name if EA chooses not to renew the license.
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