With the 2022 FIFA World Cup behind us, fans of the game are eagerly anticipating the release of the tournament’s official video game. Traditionally, EA Sports has developed bespoke titles for major football tournaments, released late in the lifespan of the current FIFA edition.
However, as there seems to be no official game for the Qatar World Cup, many fans have turned to playing football-themed games online. In fact, internal data analysed by Gala Casino, confirms that football-themed games did extremely well during the tournament. Anyways, let’s cut to the chase and delve into the history of official FIFA tournament games on PlayStation and Xbox.
FIFA 23 and the World Cup mode
EA Sports has confirmed that it will include the men’s 2022 World Cup as a game mode within the FIFA 23 release, rather than releasing a standalone title for the Qatar tournament. FIFA 23 will also feature the women’s 2023 World Cup, taking place in Australia and New Zealand next year. The World Cup update will be free for all users and available on all platforms except the Nintendo Switch. It will feature all 32 teams that have qualified for Qatar, and users can add in teams that didn’t make the cut.
Can you play the World Cup on FIFA 22?
Unfortunately, there is no branded World Cup mode within FIFA 22. In the past, it was possible to create your own World Cup via a custom offline tournament. However, even this is no longer possible, as a whole heap of national teams are missing due to licensing issues. Only 13 of the 29 currently qualified teams are fully available to use on FIFA 22, with no African or Asian nations present.
The last FIFA World Cup video game
EA Sports chose not to release a standalone game for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Instead, they released a mode as downloadable content (DLC) featuring all 32 teams and 12 stadiums in a free update. The last standalone World Cup game came in 2014, but it failed to capture the imagination after releasing only on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was comprehensive, with its ‘Road to Rio’ mode featuring a total of 203 national teams.
FIFA World Cup video games history
There have been a total of 11 official games based on specific World Cup tournaments, three of which were Japanese releases from Konami in 1998. Additionally, two games were produced during the qualification period. The standalone games were released in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014. FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 was released in 1997, while the 2010 and 2014 World Cup games were the most recent ones.
While fans might have been hoping for a standalone game for the 2022 World Cup, they can still look forward to the free World Cup mode in FIFA 23. With all 32 qualified teams included, this mode promises to be an exciting addition to the FIFA 23 game. As we wait for the game to be released, FIFA enthusiasts can reflect on the history of official FIFA World Cup video games and appreciate how far they have come.