The countdown to the 2022 Qatar World Cup is well and truly on, with the competition set to start in a matter of weeks.
Plenty of speculation surrounding FIFA 23's World Cup mode has circulated over the past few months, but it seems some light has now been shed on the details for the hotly anticipated DLC.
We've gathered all the latest information you need to know about the FIFA 23 2022 World Cup mode right here.
Release Date
As confirmed during the reveal trailer, FIFA 23 will be fully released on Friday, 30 September.
Some will be able to access the game sooner than that via a possible Beta or Demo, then the Web App and Early Access.
Early access for pre-orders begins on Tuesday, 27 September for those who buy the Ultimate Edition of the game.
The 10-hour EA Play trial gives players a limited number of hours of gaming too and will begin at the same time as pre-order early access.
The World Cup mode will be released sometime in November, as confirmed by Donk on Twitter, ahead of the start of the 2022 World Cup.
The men's tournament is scheduled for Monday, 21 November, with the women's tournament coming Thursday, 20 July 2023.
Free DLC
FIFA 18 was the last game to feature a World Cup mode, which was released as a free DLC and included the 32 participating teams and 12 stadiums.
We were expecting a similar DLC release with FIFA 23 for the 2022 World Cup.
Donk has now confirmed that the World Cup mode will indeed arrive as completely free added downloadable content.
FUT 23 World Cup Mode
Reliable FUT leaker DonkTrading on Twitter has revealed that the 2022 World Cup will be arriving as an Ultimate Team mode in FIFA 23!
So, we expect plenty of SBC content surrounding the World Cup, as well as gameplay-related Objectives, of course.
Donk also references FUT Heroes in the Tweet above, which could point to special Hero cards being released for players who perform exceptionally well during the tournament.
It looks as though both online and offline modes will be made available for the FIFA 23 World Cup mode.
Whether the offline game mode will be in Ultimate Team or not, we do not know yet.
Men's & Women's World Cup
Both the men's and women's tournaments will be catered for in the game, with a separate game mode expected to be made available.
Although women's national teams have been included in the game since FIFA 16, you have only been able to use them in kick-off mode, so FIFA 23 is set to be the most inclusive release yet.
Licenses
To the delight of many, it seems every single World Cup national team will be playable in FIFA 23, despite having not been announced as fully licensed yet.
On top of this, every Qatar 2022 World Cup stadium will also feature in-game.
EA announced a brand new fully licensed national side ahead of FIFA 23 on Tuesday, 23 August, with Croatia set to be fully kitted out in the new game.
The national side will feature in the World Cup DLC stated to arrive later this year and look to be the first of many national sides to be fully licensed.