FIFA players rejoice! With the addition of cross-play for certain consoles in FIFA 22, there’s a high potential for the next FIFA game to have the feature once it releases
For the first time in the series’ history, FIFA 23 has a high chance of implementing cross-play for all its modes as EA Sports is set to test cross-platform multiplayer for FIFA 22. As far as the tests go, the Google Stadia, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S/X will be involved during the cross-play test. The test will cover matches in the Online Friendlies and Online Seasons mode. Online Friendlies are single matches against human opponents, while Online Seasons combines several Friendlies, enabling players to move up and down through ranked divisions while gaining FIFA coins. Although FIFA 22 is also available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, there’s no confirmation whether there will also be cross-platform for these.
Why Cross-play is Only Available for Online Friendlies and Online Seasons
EA only limited it to the two modes because they aim to reduce any chance of introducing new bugs or issues within the game. While they’re only opening cross-play for Online Friendlies and Online Seasons, they haven’t closed the idea of making it accessible to other modes either. Should the game data and feedback they get from these two modes be positive, it’ll help them inform how they could further implement cross-play in future titles.
At the very least, Online Friendlies now finally lets you play with your friends on another platform. Meanwhile, enabling cross-play for Online Seasons allows you to climb the divisions against players and farm FIFA 22 coins on other platforms.
How to Enable and Disable Cross-play
In the main menu of FIFA 22, there’s a widget situated in the right bottom-hand corner that can be opened. There’s a corresponding button prompt to activate the cross-play test. You can follow the button prompted to enable to disable any form of cross-play capabilities. Besides that, you can also search for friends (regardless of their platform) and block/mute someone through this widget.
An alternative to enabling and disabling cross-play is by visiting the Matching making Options Settings screen, where you can toggle “Yes” and “No” to opt-in or out of the feature.
Will This Affect Gameplay or Matchmaking?
The cross-play test doesn’t directly impact the gameplay or your matches in FIFA 22; the best way to think about it is that this is just another part of the game. As long as you’ve opted to turn on cross-play, FIFA 22 will consider players from other platforms for you during your matchmaking in Online Seasons mode.
Why EA is Trying Cross-Play Now
In March, influencers and leakers already speculated that cross-play would be tested this year and implemented entirely in the next FIFA title. When Sony finally allowed PlayStation users to play Fortnite against other consoles in the fall of 2018, EA Sports’ benchmark title became one of the last multiplayer games that didn’t offer cross-platform support. Their efforts of adding cross-platform are better late than ever, but this at least would make way for the successive iterations of FIFA games to automatically have this feature. Plus, the addition of cross-platform to FIFA 22 should significantly boost matchmaking opportunities for the Google Stadia, arguably the weakest of the bunch compared to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X. The Google Stadia version of the game has a dramatically smaller installation base than the PC of console versions.
Set in Stone: FIFA 23 Will Have Cross-play
PlayStation, Xbox, and PC players can play with and against each other online in FIFA 23 is a massive development from FIFA’s previous years. Expected to launch on September 30, 2022, there’s still little to nothing we know about the next installation of the FIFA series. However, we now know that cross-play will be available as soon as it hits store shelves.
For years, cross-play has been a heavily requested feature for the FIFA games. It would allow players to take the pitch with their friends using another console and unite the FUT player base. This has many benefits, such as having a more competitive pool of FUT players, a faster matchmaking process, and a universal marketplace between all platforms.
Having cross-play would help to level the playing field regarding the availability of FUT 23 cards and FIFA coins price differences per region, ensuring players all face the same competition.
