Can You Cross-Play Between FIFA 21, FIFA 22, and FIFA 23?
As a hardcore FIFA gamer since the 90s, this is a question I‘ve been getting nonstop since cross-play was introduced in FIFA 22. And I totally get it – who wouldn‘t want to destroy their buddies on old-gen consoles with their shiny new next-gen powered FUT squad?
Well my fellow footie fans, I come bearing good news and bad news. Let‘s break it down:
The Good News
Cross-play is finally here! With FIFA 23, PS5 players can play against other PS5 players and Xbox Series X|S players can face off against their next-gen Microsoft brethren. For the first time ever, splitting your FUT loyalty across console generations won‘t cut your friends list in half!
Here‘s a quick summary if you‘re a visually-minded gamer:
Chart showing cross-play combinations for FIFA 22 and FIFA 23
As you can see, FIFA 22 and 23 do support cross-gen play on the same console family. Brimming with jealousy of your buddy‘s new Series X? Just grab FIFA 23 on your trusty Xbox One and you can rain on their next-gen parade in style!
The Bad News
Before you get too excited, here comes the downer…there‘s still no full cross-play between competing console platforms.
That means Xbox can‘t play PlayStation and vice versa, even on the same FIFA title. I know, I know…I‘m bummed too. Asgamers we were so close to the dream of firing up cross-platform tournaments and Ultimate Team transfers!
Maybe in FIFA 24? One can dream…
What Gives?! Business Impacts of Limited Cross-Play
I know what you‘re thinking – with even Minecraft bedrocking cross-play across competing platforms, what makes FIFA so special? As an industry insider, let me shed some light on why I think EA is so hesitant:
Exclusivity Deals: Console makers want to push their own platforms, so binding exclusivity deals are commonplace. Could Sony‘s lucrative FIFA promotion have locked even partial cross-console play out of the negotiations?
Ultimate Team Fragmentation: Cross-platform FUT pools could disrupt the in-game economy balanced separately across ecosystems. And we know how EA loves monetizing FUT packs!
There are likely technical challenges too, but when it comes down to dollars and cents, I believe these business factors have pushed meaningful cross-play down EA‘s priority pole.
Maybe as subscription services like EA Play dissolve platform barriers things will change in coming years…but I still expect coy baby steps from the FIFA franchise, not giant strides.
The Bottom Line
(drumroll please) …deep breath…I regret to conclude that no, you still cannot cross-play FIFA 21 with either FIFA 22 or the just-released FIFA 23. At least not without dusting off your old hardware for some last-gen on last-gen action.
While progress has been made expanding cross-play within console families, true cross-platform matchmaking remains an elusive dream for FIFA gamers. But hey, there‘s always career mode while we wait for EA to unlock those lucrative platform silos!
So that‘s the honest truth – like it or not – on the cross-play conundrum of these recent FIFA titles. Let me know if you have any other questions, and be sure to subscribe for more insider FIFA coverage all year long!
