EA’s last FIFA game goes all in on women’s soccer

theverge.com:

With the 2022 edition of the Euros currently underway in a sweltering England, interest in the women’s game is particularly high right now — and EA is taking advantage with the next FIFA release.

Today, the company unveiled the first trailer and gameplay details for FIFA 23, and, among other changes, the game includes the addition of women’s club teams from the top leagues in England and France. FIFA 23 will also feature both editions of the world cup: the 2022 men’s competition in Qatar and the women’s, which follows in 2023 in Australia and New Zealand. (Both will be added as part of a free, post-launch update.)

EA first introduced women’s international teams in the 2016 edition of FIFA, but the inclusion of club teams is still a big — and long overdue — change. That said, with only two leagues, it’s still far behind the men’s portion of the experience; if you’re looking to play as some of the biggest clubs in the women’s game, like Bayern Munich, the Portland Thorns, or Champions League runners-up Barcelona, you’re out of luck.

Outside of adding more options for fans of women’s soccer, FIFA 23 also introduces cross-play functionality and what EA describes as “the next evolution of HyperMotion2 technology” for a more realistic gameplay experience. You can get a hint of what that looks like in the trailer below:

This version of FIFA is also notable because it will be the last game with that iconic title from EA Sports; starting in 2023, EA will be ditching the FIFA label for a newly christened franchise called EA Sports FC.

FIFA 23 launches on September 30th on the PC, Xbox, PS4, PS5, and Stadia.