FIFA 23 could well be the last version of EA's footballing franchise that includes a fully licensed FIFA World Cup. EA has now confirmed that EA Sports FC will become the title of the franchise as of next season after their split with football's global governing body.
Regardless of what happens next, the World Cup is indeed available in FIFA 23, with fully licensed players, teams, kits, and the Women's World Cup too!
The unique Winter World Cup in Qatar has been and gone, but we still have lots to look forward to when the Women's World Cup takes place in Australia and New Zealand in July.
FIFA 23 World Cup DLC
FIFA 23 will be the last in the series between EA and FIFA - before EA Sports FC takes over in the summer of 2023 - that won't affect the content coming in the title.
"We are committed to ensuring the next FIFA is our best ever, with more features, game modes, World Cup content, clubs, leagues, competitions, and players than any FIFA title before."
There are currently four game modes available within the World Cup DLC, with players able to enjoy the full World Cup experience, alongside FIFA World Cup Live, FIFA World Cup Kick Off, and Online Tournament.
More information will follow ahead of the Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in the build-up to the tournament.
World Cup Mode
The World Cup free update went live on Wednesday, 9 November, allowing access to a fully licenced, authentic recreation of the FIFA World Cup 2022.
All 32 qualified nations will be included, with multiple ways to play.
Kick Off
Choose from any of the 32 qualified teams (or any other national team in FIFA 23) and play locally against friends or the CPU at any stage of the tournament.
Tournaments
Take your chosen team through the whole World Cup journey, starting with the first group stage match and potentially going all the way to lifting the trophy in the final.
You can also play a Custom FIFA World Cup Tournament, swapping in national teams that didn't qualify for the competition.
Online Tournament
Pick any international team available in FIFA 23, head straight in at the knockout stages and try to beat four online opponents to win the World Cup.
Cross-play will be enabled for players on the same platform generation.
FIFA World Cup Live
The FIFA World Cup Live mode will update throughout the tournament with real-world fixtures and results.
You will be able to select any past or present World Cup 2022 match and play locally against friends or the CPU via Featured Quickplay or use Online Quickplay to take on mates online.
You can still play as other national teams that didn't qualify for the World Cup in Online Quickplay by choosing All National Teams.
Your FIFA World Cup
Inherit the real-world progress of any team in the tournament and take control of their campaign from a past or current fixture.
Actual results and statistics up to that stage will be used, with new starting points unlocked as fixtures are updated.
World Cup Teams
16 new national teams feature in FIFA 23. The news should come as little surprise as all 16 new teams have qualified for the World Cup, so they feature in all licensed World Cup content.
All these teams are available in kick-off mode within the World Cup DLC, as well as all the other modes within FIFA 23's World Cup space.
The 16 new teams available in the game are:
- Croatia
- Ghana
- Iran
- Morocco
- Qatar
- Cameroon
- Costa Rica
- Ecuador
- Japan
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Serbia
- South Korea
- Switzerland
- Tunisia
- Uruguay
The other 16 teams that qualified for the World Cup are also fully licensed in the game. There are 15 teams that did not qualify for the World Cup available to use within World Cup modes, including previous World Champions Italy.
Ultimate Team Integration
Instead of a separate World Cup mode in Ultimate Team, the content was integrated within the standard mode.
Initial Launch
The Path to Glory promo was the first of the main World Cup events in FUT and it was joined by loads of other content that ran throughout the campaign.
Path to Glory introduced boosted live cards which were upgraded throughout the tournament depending on how that player's national side performed.
World Cup Player Items were also included in certain packs and as rewards, which are slightly upgraded versions of players from the 32 participating teams in the tournament.
These cards had an expiry date of Wednesday, 4 January when they were removed from FUT and all FUT clubs. The more World Cup Player Items you amassed, the greater prizes you earned in the World Cup End of Event Rewards.
World Cup Swaps acted much like Icon Swaps of past titles, with Swaps Tokens mainly earned through objectives, which you could then trade in against certain SBCs to earn Packs, Player Picks, and World Cup Stars.
World Cup Stars have permanently upgraded cards, with one player from each of the 32 competing nations gaining the variant.
World Cup FUT Heroes are upgraded versions of the Base FUT Hero cards, but they only arrived for a select group of 30 players. The new cards were released over two squads, with some only available through SBCs or Objectives.