FIFA 23 finally gets crossplay - but in 1v1 modes only
Here's how it works.
FIFA 23 has crossplay in 1v1 modes only, EA has announced.
It's a feature a long time coming for the FIFA series, which has up to this point limited matchmaking to players on a single platform.
Here's how crossplay works in FIFA 23:
Crossplay works in all FIFA 23 1v1 modes at launch, including FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT Online Friendlies, FUT Rivals, FUT Champions and FUT Online Draft), Online Seasons, and Online Friendlies, on both generations of FIFA: PS4 and Xbox One matchmake with each other, and the current generation of consoles - PS5, Xbox Series X and S, as well as PC and Google Stadia - connect in a separate crossplay ecosystem.
"This is a long-time coming for FIFA, and we know our players have been waiting for this," line producer Matthew Lafreniere said in a presentation attended by Eurogamer.
"Not only will it help with overall matchmaking, but it means you can play with your friends no matter what platform they're on."
Related, the PC version of FIFA 23 is finally upgraded to the current-gen engine, sitting side-by-side with FIFA 23 on PS5, Xbox Series X and S and Stadia to create "the biggest pool of current-gen players that can connect, cooperate and compete with each other".
EA said crossplay between last-gen and current-gen versions of FIFA 23 is not possible because of significant differences between gameplay features.
"The reason is the gameplay is different," match experience line producer Sam Rivera explained. "There are multiple features that are gen five [EA's classification for the current generation] exclusive, so we cannot just match up between them - it would desync right away."
Unfortunately, restricting crossplay to 1v1 modes only means FIFA's 11v11 Pro Clubs mode misses out. This will no doubt come as a disappointment to fans of Pro Clubs, which is arguably the mode that would benefit the most from crossplay given how many players it accommodates in a match.
"We're already exploring expanding our crossplay capabilities in the future, so our players can play and connect with whoever, whenever and wherever they want," Lafreniere teased.
The FUT transfer market is also expanding to include crossplay. The auction house is now combined within pools of platforms, with the exception of PC and Switch, which will have their own separate transfer markets. This means if you list an item on Stadia, a PS4 player will be able to see and interact with it.
Crossplay is initially enabled for all players when launching FIFA 23 for the first time, provided the platform level settings allow for it, and it can be opted out of at any time.
FIFA 23 is of course EA's final FIFA-titled football game. From next year's game, EA will use the EA Sports FC title instead, ending a run of almost 30 years of EA-made FIFA games.