EA Sports claimed the UEFA rights in FIFA 19 - but this could have major implications for FIFA 20.
As well as the Champions League, Europa League and UEFA Super Cup, there's every chance Euro 2020 could make an appearance on this year's game.
The European Championships offer a fantastic opportunity for EA to get back in the race with Konami's PES 2020 - especially after losing the rights to Juventus.
Learning from the past
EA is desperate to claw back their $660 million depreciation in share value off the back of losing the Italian giants.
One way they could do this is through a Euro 2020 Ultimate Team update - similar to the World Cup mode in last year's game.
The World Cup 2018 update went down a real hit with fans
Rewind 12 months.
EA released the World Cup update on May 29th 2018. At this point, EA share value was at 131.25 USD.
If you compare that with today's value of 87.50 USD you can see how much of benefit the update was to the publisher.
The Euro 2020 mode should follow the same format as the World Cup update in FIFA 14 and FIFA 18.
Not only would this restore EA's share value but it could maintain engagement rates that typically drop throughout summer as the game enters the final few months of its life cycle.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about FIFA 20
Release Date
EA Sports are very consistent with their release dates, and once again the final Friday in September will mark the full release of FIFA 20.
This year, that will be Friday, 27 September 2019, but we can expect types of early access too.
The Standard Edition of the game costs £54.99 on PC and £59.99 on PS4 and Xbox One. By pre-ordering you will receive up to three FIFA 20 Ultimate Team rare gold packs (one per week for three weeks), choose one of five mid-version ICON items for five FUT matches and special Edition FUT Kits.
The Journey
The Journey: Champions marked the end of Alex Hunter’s journey mode over the last three versions of FIFA, so what’s next? It looks as if Volta Football is replacing the Journey, but this isn't confirmed.
The Baku Olympic Stadium is hosting group stage games and quarter-finals for Euro 2020
Ultimate Team
Ultimate Team is the most popular mode in FIFA, but players are still frustrated by the imbalance of purchasing packs from the FUT store, and what you actually get in return.
FIFA’s in-game currency has been banned in Belgium due to it breaching gambling laws, defining it as an “illegal game of chance”. It has been shown that the chances of getting an 84+ rated card is just 4.4% in a premium gold pack.
However, the BBC report that Ultimate Team is not considered gambling in the UK, so don't expect EA to change its stance on the mode any time soon.
READ MORE: The latest on FIFA 20 Ultimate Team
The new Champions League and Europa League licenses made their way to Ultimate Team, but FIFA didn't use it to their advantage.
A Champions League item rated +1 higher than the base card was a touch lazy, with more man of the match cards surely the way to go.
Combining the FUT Icons with historic Champions League performances gone by would get the masses excited. Imagine UCL versions of, Ronaldinho or Steven Gerrard, or even of current stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Ultimate Team was stripped down on the Nintendo Switch - even omitting the new Division Rivals.
A lack of Frostbite technology meant FIFA on the Switch was some way off the console and PC versions, with EA opting to use a 'custom' version of older Ignite tech over a scaled-down version of their flagship engine.
READ MORE: FIFA 20 Gameplay, improved features & more
More news is coming on FIFA 20 in The Pitch Notes over the next couple of months.
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