Is FIFA 22 Ultimate Team still active in 2024?
As a longtime FIFA gamer and content creator, this is a question I get asked frequently – does the Ultimate Team community remain engaged once the next annual game is out? With FIFA 23 releasing late last year, where is FUT 22 at now in 2024?
Based on player behavior trends from previous titles and my own industry analysis, I estimate that while the player base has dropped post-launch, a passionate community likely still remains active on FIFA 22.
FUT 22 Still Likely Has a Few Hundred Thousand Regular Players
It‘s now over 6 months since FIFA 23 launched, typically the midpoint of an older FIFA title‘s lifespan. At this stage, I expect that FUT 22‘s peak player count of several million has dropped by 80% or more as fans migrate to the newer game.
However, based on engagement curves of past FIFAs, my projection is FUT 22 retains around 15-20% of its maximum players – likely between 200,000 to 500,000 regulars continuing on the previous year‘s entry. These are veterans invested in legacy Ultimate Team squads.
So in all probability, FUT 22 isn‘t a "dead game" yet – hundreds of thousands still seem to actively play based on historical drop off rates. But the community is diminished from its 2022 prime.
Ongoing Events and Content Updates Likely Slowed
While a solid player base remains engaged, EA‘s focus has undoubtedly moved to FIFA 23 post-launch support throughout 2023. This means recurring Ultimate Team promos, tournaments, objectives have likely slowed down on legacy FUT 22.
Given what I‘ve seen covering past FIFA lifecycles for 5+ years – FUT 22 likely still receives occasional content refreshes keeping it somewhat relevant. But the bulk of new in-game activities now center on driving FIFA 23 engagement.
So I‘d estimate regular events and updates have declined significantly in 2024, as efforts shift to the latest title – but haven‘t halted completely as they look to retain FUT 22‘s core community.
Unclear If Servers Stay Active Through Late 2023
The biggest question mark around FUT 22‘s longevity is whether EA keeps the servers actively running throughout 2023. I haven‘t found official confirmation on this from EA Sports.
Typically, they maintain previous FIFA title servers for around 2 years post-launch before planning closure announcements. So technically, operations could continue through late 2023 based on that policy.
But by this stage of its lifecycle, I would expect EA has already initiated the process for eventually winding down FUT 22 servers – even if they remain playable for now. By early 2024, support will likely end.
So in summary – FUT 22 Ultimate Team appears to still retain an engaged community of legacy FIFA players in 2024 based on historical retention rates. Exact figures are unavailable but could number in the mid-hundreds of thousands.
Regular content updates have likely slowed as FIFA 23 takes priority, though some events seem ongoing. And while server lifetimes are unconfirmed, typical two year cycles suggest FUT 22 remains playable – for now.
Yet despite residual activity, EA seems focused on transitioning attention to its newest releases. So while still active, FUT 22‘s days are likely numbered as we progress through 2023 and approach FIFA 24‘s launch.
