For the first time in over 10 years, EA has hold of the official Champions League license for use in its FIFA franchise. FIFA 19 will be the first game in the series to boast the official license of Europe’s elite club competition since the 2007 spin-off title UEFA Champions League 2006-2007.
The news comes soon after UEFA confirmed its long-running partnership with Konami–which saw the Pro Evolution Soccer series exclusively contain the competition for a decade–had come to an end. EA and UEFA’s new deal also means the lesser Europa League license will be exclusively seen in FIFA from now on. The length of this deal has not been divulged.
FIFA now has a near total monopoly over real-world soccer licenses when compared to Konami and PES. Most recently, EA released a free World Cup update for FIFA 18.
The game is coming to PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, PS3, and Xbox 360 on September 28. You’ll receive three days of early access–starting on September 25–if you pre-order the Champions Edition.
Last year’s FIFA was well-received at launch; we awarded the sports game a 7/10 in our FIFA 18 review. “It’s off the pitch that EA excels,” we said. “From the variety of game modes on offer and how everything’s presented, to the constant updates in FUT’s Team of the Week, Daily Objectives, and discussion of real-world happenings in commentary, FIFA 18 captures the world of football and confidently translates it into a video game. On the pitch, however, EA’s soccer series is still lagging far behind PES 2018’s more fluid, satisfying football. This year’s improvements are welcome, but more needs to be done in the coming years if FIFA is to be a world-beater once again.”
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