With the 2018 World Cup just around the corner, EA Sports has announced that a free patch will soon be introduced to FIFA 18 that will bring an authentic tournament experience to the game. It'll be made available on all platforms come May 29.
When game developers are skipping E3 in order to enjoy the World Cup, you know that it's pretty serious business in the world of soccer. So big, in fact, that EA will soon launch a free update packed with World Cup goodness for FIFA 18 fans. This isn't the first time the developer/publisher has made this move, but we're certainly happy to see the tradition continue.
Come May 29, everyone who has an up-to-date copy of FIFA 18 will be able to download a free patch that will introduce a suite of features themed around the upcoming soccer tournament. The participating teams, their kits, badges and the match balls will be included, alongside the iconic tournament trophy, and the fields the matches will be played on. For those who are counting, that's literally a dozen Russian stadiums being added through this update.
The realism is being taken an extra step with fresh versions of the sights and sounds of an "authentic pitch environment," and even the advertisements, dressings, national team banners and crowds will match the World Cup setting.
On top of FIFA 18 sporting the proper look and sound of the World Cup, players will also be able to make their way through the official tournament, or simply play through a bracket of their own.
According to an update on the PlayStation Blog, a variety of modes will sport the World Cup aesthetic. For starters, you can choose any of the 32 qualified nations and play through the standard structure, match by match, until a tournament champion has been crowned. You'll also be able to simply play a solo or competitive match with friends boasting any of the teams, settings, etc. If you aren't happy with the way the tournament brackets shook out, you'll also have the ability to create a custom World Cup tournament in FIFA 18, allowing players to match up teams to their heart's content in order to see how things might shake out.
Finally, the World Cup content is coming to the Ultimate Team mode of FIFA 18, with new Icons, player items and ratings being introduced to the game. Team ratings, rosters and the like will be up to date with the World Cup standings so, again, EA is really going for that authentic feel with this free patch.
With the update going live at the end of May, we've still got a few weeks to kill before working up our own dream version of the World Cup. In the meantime, feel free to share your tournament predictions in the comments below.
