Does FIFA 19 still work online in 2024? No – Servers are shutting down permanently on February 14th.
As confirmed in an official announcement from Electronic Arts, FIFA 19‘s online services and features across all platforms will be discontinued on February 14, 2023. This includes matchmaking, Ultimate Team, leaderboards and any other functionality requiring server connectivity. So in just over a week, it will essentially be offline-only.
Why Are FIFA Servers Being Shut Down?
According to gaming news sites like IGN and Polygon, Electronic Arts made the decision to terminate online services for older FIFA titles in an effort to consolidate players into newer installments like FIFA 23.
With each new annual release dividing an already fractured player base across various FIFA editions, EA hopes to funnel more players into purchasing the latest iteration to maximize engagement – and crucially, microtransaction revenue, especially FIFA Ultimate Team card packs.
While unpopular with fans invested in particular FIFA games, from EA‘s business perspective, there is incentive to ramp down support for previous annualized releases in order to juice engagement for the newest with the broadest appeal – even if that means forcing player migration through online shutdowns.
FIFA Games Affected By Online Discontinuation
The online plug is being pulled across two batches of older FIFA titles:
February 14, 2023 – FIFA 16, FIFA 17, FIFA 18 and FIFA 19 across all console generations and on PC will have online functionality terminated.
No announced end date yet – FIFA 20 and FIFA 21 remain online for now.
So FIFA 19 joins FIFA 18, 17 and 16 on the chopping block next week. Of course, offline components will still work – but online play, Ultimate Team, shared leagues and networking features will go dark permanently.
Just How Vital Is Online Connectivity To FIFA 19?
While offline kickabout modes will remain playable, make no mistake – losing online support cuts the heart out of the modern FIFA experience. And FIFA 19 is no exception.
Server disconnection renders marquee game modes like FIFA Ultimate Team entirely unplayable. No more playing Squad Battles against AI opponents to earn rewards. No more accessing the FUT Transfer Market to buy players and consumables. No more competing in online FUT Divisions and Weekend League for glory.
Even standard head-to-head is powered by online matchmaking. Playing solo grows stale quickly without the human element of facing friends or random opponents. Leaderboards and stats tracking will freeze as well.
And without recurring server updates, FIFA 19 will become increasingly outdated as player transfers and rosters diverge further from reality over time compared to newer iterations.
While offline is better than nothing, losing these online components fundamentally damages FIFA 19‘s longevity and playability.
How Does FIFA 19‘s Current Quality Hold Up?
As a point of comparison against newer releases, FIFA 19 remains one of the most fondly remembered modern installments before the perceived decline seen in more recent editions like the buggy FIFA 22.
Longtime fans and pundits alike praise FIFA 19 first and foremost for its refined on-pitch action – the tangible player animations, balanced pacing and increased control responsiveness lead to satisfying flowing football reminiscent of peak FIFA gameplay.
Other standout elements that retain relevance today include:
- Introduction of official UEFA tournaments like the Champions League with authentic presentation
- Significant graphics bump harnessing the Frostbite engine for superior visual polish
- Innovative new set piece systems, shot styles and first touch techniques
- Impressive replication of manager movements/ behaviors and stadium atmospheres
When it comes to modes, Ultimate Team still featured engaging single-player challenges and less emphasis on predatory monetization tactics. Physics-based Career Mode enhances the manager fantasy. VOLTA predated the casual street football experiment.
With satisfying core mechanics and features, FIFA 19 has aged gracefully in several respects – even if lacking newer licensing updates or voluminous multiplayer content.
Head-to-Head Comparison – FIFA 19 vs Recent Releases
| Game | FIFA 19 | FIFA 22 | FIFA 23 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Metacritic Score | 83 | 80 | TBD |
| Gameplay Feel | Responsive, balanced | Inconsistent, ‘ice-skating‘ players | Tweaked fundamentally |
| Graphics/Presentation | Great leap via Frostbite | Stagnant iterations | Minor visual bumps |
| FUT Content | Engaging single+multiplayer | Increasingly pay-to-win | Moments replace Heroes |
| Career Mode | Interactive manager NPCs | Minimal innovations | Transfer analyitics |
| Licensing | Lacks Serie A, Ligue 1 etc | All leagues and teams | World Cup update |
| Overall Direction | Beloved entry pre-decline | Heavily monetized | Refocused gameplay |
Here you can see FIFA 19 represented a peak in gameplay quality and innovation for the series – superior to the excessively monetized and sometimes broken FIFA 22, with more content variety than October 2022‘s FIFA 23.
Should You Still Play FIFA 19 With Online Disconnected?
Weighing it all up, is FIFA 19 still worth booting up for a kickabout after February 2023 without server connectivity? The verdict comes down to personal preference.
In my opinion as a longtime FIFA fan, even restricting to offline portions, FIFA 19 offers sufficiently rewarding gameplay for veterans to still enjoy thanks to well-tuned footballing action. Coupled with memorable career mode roleplaying, plus appreciable visual polish and atmosphere, it holds identifiable strengths over preceding and subsequent franchise iterations.
However losing online function critically hampers the overall package – gutting Ultimate Team, multiplayer friendlies and stat tracking in one fell swoop. This irreparably damagesreplayability and variety for many. The availability of newer annual sequels also offers updated rosters, incremental features and modern connectivity for invested fans.
So in summary – while FIFA 19 remains one of the absolute best modern football simulations in terms of responsive gameplay and booth quality ahead of newer but degraded releases, the permanent server shutdown leaves a hollow, incomplete experience missing too many integral online components to unconditionally recommend continuing play post mid February 2023 – look to shift to FIFA 21 or 22 instead.
It‘s a somber online farewell to both a beloved FIFA entry in 19 and ending cross-generational online support for FIFA 16 through FIFA 19. We reminisce fondly about the memories and (mostly) high quality football action. Time to lace up the virtual boots going forward in a more recent title.
