It’s official: FIFA 23 is the final EA-developed game to bear the FIFA name.
After this instalment, EA will pivot towards its franchise’s new name of EA Sports FC, with the inaugural game in that series being this year’s EA Sports FC 24.
FIFA has pledged to create its own series of video games, but that series won’t start this year, so for now, if you want the 2023-24 FIFA experience, you should opt for EA Sports FC 24.
However, right now, many gamers are still enjoying FIFA 23, and EA recently released an update that made it possible to access the Women’s World Cup, which, at time of writing, is still underway.
In addition to 2022’s Qatar World Cup update, these will be the final updates that will allow you to access World Cup-related content in an EA football game due to the publisher ending its partnership with FIFA for EA Sports FC 24 and beyond.
As such, you might be wondering how you can access World Cup updates and content within FIFA 23. Wonder no more, for we’re here to help! Here’s how to play the World Cup in FIFA 23.
How to play the Women’s World Cup in FIFA 23
The most recent major FIFA 23 update adds the ability to play the FIFA Women’s World Cup, and it’s pretty easy to do. Here’s a step-by-step guide to playing the Women’s World Cup in FIFA 23.
- Update your game to the latest version. Before you can access the Women’s World Cup, you may need to update your game to the latest version. FIFA 23 will usually prompt you to do this or simply do it automatically, and, of course, you will need to be connected to the internet to access the update.
- Choose the FIFA Women’s World Cup from the main menu. Once the update has been applied, you should simply see the Women’s World Cup from the main menu. You can access it just like you did the 2022 Qatar Men’s World Cup, and you should see the range of game modes as soon as you choose this option.
- If you don’t see the Women’s World Cup, head into Play Modes. You may need to access the Play Modes option from the FIFA 23 main menu if you don’t see the Women’s World Cup on the main screen. The Women’s World Cup should be visible within Play Modes.
How to play the 2022 Qatar Men’s World Cup in FIFA 23
At time of writing, the Qatar Men’s World Cup was still playable in FIFA 23, so here’s how to access that.
- Go to Play Modes. Since the Men’s World Cup isn’t the latest major sporting event to hit FIFA 23, it’s not currently being actively promoted, so you will need to head into the Play Modes menu in order to get to it.
- Choose 2022 Qatar Men’s World Cup. You should see an option for the 2022 Qatar Men’s World Cup within Play Modes. From there, you can still access all of the features that came with the associated update.
- You may need to update FIFA 23. If you don’t see the Men’s World Cup, there’s a chance you may need to update your game in order to access it, especially if it’s been a long time since you last played. Alternatively, you could try restarting the game or even reinstalling it if updating it doesn’t work.
There is, of course, a chance that by the time you read this, EA will have removed World Cup content from FIFA 23. If that’s the case, unfortunately, then you may have missed your chance to access these events.
When you play either mode, you can build custom tournaments that allow you to play out your own fantasy versions of the FIFA World Cup events, or you can play them just as they actually happened in real life.
Admittedly, at time of writing, the FIFA Women’s World Cup hasn’t yet concluded, so we don’t know who’s going to make it through to the final.
As such, right now, if you boot up FIFA 23 and head into the Women’s World Cup, you won’t see predetermined teams in the final; instead, you’ll be able to pit two teams against one another as you see fit. Why not create your own Women’s World Cup final?
Why won’t the World Cup be in EA Sports FC 24?
Unfortunately, when EA Sports FC 24 is launched later this year (again, at time of writing), you won’t be able to access any kind of World Cup content within the game, at least not at launch.
This is because EA has ended its partnership with FIFA, which is the governing body that oversees the World Cup. That means EA won’t be able to get the licence for the World Cup, so you won’t see any kind of official tie-in.
That’s not to say that the World Cup will never again appear in an EA football game. There’s a chance that EA and FIFA will set aside their differences for some future football game, or that they’ll be able to come to a one-off agreement that allows the World Cup to reappear in an EA Sports FC game.
However, for the time being, it seems that if you want to play the World Cup in a football video game, you’re going to need to wait for the series that FIFA has said it will create alongside other developers in future.
We don’t yet know when those games are going to be released or even who’s making them, though, so your best bet right now is to revisit the 2022 Men’s World Cup and 2023 Women’s World Cup in FIFA 23.
