How will the FIFA 21 Winter Upgrades promo work?

The FIFA Winter Upgrades will be heading to Ultimate Team soon.

The upgrades will arrive as part of the Winter Refresh promo, but how exactly do the upgrades work?

How do Winter Upgrades work?

In years past, we have seen a whole host of different levels of upgrades during the Winter Upgrades promotion.

But last year, EA switched it up.

Only the top 50 most improved players received upgrades during last years batch of winter upgrades, which meant that the minimum upgrade we saw to any card in the promo was +3.

STANDOUT PERFORMERS - Only 50 players received upgrades last year
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STANDOUT PERFORMERS - Only 50 players received upgrades last year

There were upgrades of more than three, but anything less was left to be dealt with as part of their FIFA 21 ratings.

Performance-driven special cards for the upgraded players - such as TOTW, POTM or OTW - that saw their ratings eclipsed by the new base cards, were upgraded accordingly.

VARDY - Jamie Vardy saw his POTM card upgraded after jumping to an 85 OVR last year
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VARDY - Jamie Vardy saw his POTM card upgraded after jumping to an 85 OVR last year

But if the upgrades didn't reach the standards of the existing TOTW cards, then the ratings stayed put.

There was no upgrade to the base rating of the pre-existing base cards, though they did remain in-game, but were replaced in packs by the newly upgraded cards.

Will EA follow suit in FIFA 21?

The method that EA will adopt for their FIFA 21 upgrades remains to be seen, but we're hoping for a switch back to the way the promo was run back in FIFA 19.

FIFA 19 - The staggered release went down a hit with FUT fans
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FIFA 19 - The staggered release went down a hit with FUT fans

This meant that there were many more upgrades for fans to hunt for in packs, which we're sure EA will consider when the Winter Refresh promo arrives later this month.

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