The new version of the most popular football game - FIFA 21 will be released this year. But when? Many fans of the FIFA series are currently asking themselves whether FIFA 21 will release as usual in the autumn due to the corona pandemic. We summarize further information and rumors for you to figure out the possible FIFA 21 release date, early access time, platforms, modes and new features. We answer the most important questions about FIFA 21.

When Will FIFA 21 Release?

There is no official announcement from the game manufacturer EA yet, but suspect that FIFA 21 will be released on September 25, 2020. Why? In the past few years, Electronic Arts has always published FIFA on the last Friday in September, which falls on the same day that year. The prerequisite for this, however, is that EA maintains its usual processes from previous years.

When Will FIFA 21 Demo Release?

Here, too, a look into the past reveals more. If the release date of the full version of September 25th is confirmed, the FIFA 21 demo could be released on September 11th, 2020. In this case, we also refer to the experience from previous years, in which the demo always came out two weeks before the full version was released.

In the trial version, you can usually try out the new gameplay with a limited number of teams. Often you also have the opportunity to try out new features. Last year at FIFA 20, for example, that was the case with the newly introduced Volta mode.

Will Covid-19 Affect FIFA 21 Release Date?

EA Sports FIFA series is one of the institutions in the gaming industry - no wonder fans of the series are already thinking about the next part of the series, FIFA 21.

After many projects such as films or series had to be postponed in the past weeks and months due to the restrictions caused by the corona pandemic and the majority of the football leagues stopped or even completely stopped playing, many football fans at FIFA 21 feared the worst .

According to the current state of knowledge, FIFA players can breathe a sigh of relief: In a conference call on the financial results (PDF) from EA, investors and fans were assured that the plans for a familiar release in September had not changed despite Covid-19. If EA Sports is able to meet the schedule, fans can expect a market launch on September 25, 2020. It is the last Friday of the month - in previous years the FIFA games had been released on the same day. The associated demo version mostly appeared around two weeks earlier in previous years; Accordingly, September 11, 2020 seems realistic here.

However, it is quite possible that the first version of FIFA 21 will not yet have the final squad of the teams from the Bundesliga, Premier League and Co. At the moment it is still difficult to predict how (or when) the transfer period for new signings will take place after the end of the seasons. However, this shouldn't be a big problem for EA: With the update, the players can be quickly transferred from one team to the other in-game - the same naturally also applies to the team jerseys, whose new designs may not be released until after the game release will.

Which Consoles (Platforms) Will FIFA 21 Be Released On?

Not surprisingly, FIFA 21 will be available on PS4, Xbox One and PC. It is also rumored to appear on the next generation consoles PS5 and Xbox Series X, not confirmed officially yet.

What Does The PS5 Release Mean for FIFA 21? What About The Xbox Series X?

The new PlayStation from Sony, the "PS5", will be released for the Christmas season 2020. And Sony's biggest competitor Microsoft is also moving and wants to launch the new "Xbox Series X" at the end of the year.

However, because FIFA 21 is coming out a few months in advance, the question arises as to what significance the new console generation has for FIFA. We expect FIFA 21 to come out on PS4, Xbox One and PC in September - FIFA 20 was also available for the Nintendo Switch.

But we also expect the new FIFA offshoot for the new generation of consoles from PS5 and Xbox Series X. Everything else is unimaginable. Incidentally, this was also the case when Sony and Microsoft last launched their new consoles. That was in 2013. Here FIFA 14 first appeared in September for the old consoles and was also available for the new consoles a few months later - with the introduction of the PS4 and Xbox One.

What Will FIFA 21 Cost?

We expect the price for FIFA to remain stable. If this is the case, the standard version of FIFA 21 for the consoles will cost 69.99 euros. In previous years, the price of the PC was always ten euros below, i.e. 59.99 euros. For the Nintendo Switch, FIFA 20 was again available for ten euros less and cost 49.99 euros.

It became more expensive at FIFA 20 if you bought the Champions Edition (89.99 euros) or the Ultimate Edition (99.99 euros). The advantages included a three-day early access and packs for your Ultimate Team start. It is quite possible that there will be several editions of FIFA 21 again.

How Can I Play FIFA 21 Earlier?

We assume that there will also be a chance to start playing again before the official release at FIFA 21. In addition to a possible three-day early access, which you get when you buy a more expensive version (see above), there should also be the so-called EA Access.

With EA Access, you may also be able to play FIFA 21 again a week before the official release date. However, the playing time is limited to ten hours.

As you can imagine, you won't get early access. Both Xbox and PS4 gamers pay EUR 3.99 a month or EUR 24.99 a year for the offer. EA Access also applies to other Electronic Arts games. By the way, EA Sports offers a similar service for PC gamers with the Origin Access.

What Content Will There Be at FIFA 21?

The most important and best-known modes will also be part of FIFA 21: Kick-Off, Ultimate Team, Career Mode and Pro Clubs. It will be exciting to see how EA deals with the Volta mode introduced in FIFA 20. The FIFA Street offshoot was eagerly awaited in advance but failed completely in the community. However, we assume that Volta mode will also be part of FIFA 21.

What New Leagues We Can Expect In FIFA 21?

In a poll, FIFA fans can vote which leagues they want for FIFA 21. We have the latest results for you. This is what the survey is about: On the fifplay.com page, fans have the opportunity to vote which football league they want to see in the next FIFA branch. There are a number of leagues from all over the world to choose from. From German regional leagues to the first division of Madagascar, there is a lot going on.

These 10 new leagues are what fans want most for FIFA 21:

• Finnish League - Veikkausliiga (21%, 185,668 votes)

• Indian League - Indian Super League (20%, 176,755 votes)

• Greek League - Superleague Ellada (10%, 90,464 votes)

• Indonesian League - Go-Jek League 1 (5%, 40,839 votes)

• United Arab Emirates - UAE Premier Division (4%, 37,192 votes)

• Brazilian League - Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (4%, 32,261 votes)

• Ecuadorian League - Serie A (3%, 23,262 votes)

• Czech League - Fortuna League (2%, 21,552 votes)

• Hungarian League - Nemzeti Bajnokság (2%, 18,568 votes)

• Malaysian League - Super Malaysian League (2%, 17,228 votes)

How do such results come about? Since FIFA has a huge reach worldwide and is played all over the world, many fans certainly want to see their home leagues in a FIFA section and vote accordingly.

FIFA 21 Wishlist: What New Modes and Improvements Can Be Expected?

For FIFA 21, we really hope that the franchise will introduce features that will allow the series to return to gameplay of incomparable quality. Here is a list of the changes we would like to see:

• 1. Perhaps the biggest problem in recent years: the servers for online games in FIFA are very often too unstable. Not only were there numerous days when the servers were completely down - at the same time, many players complain about bad connections, stutters, game aborts and other annoyances.

• 2. Another point that has been criticized by players for years: Compared to the Ultimate Team, modes such as career mode or pro clubs are treated rather neglected. Career mode: this is certainly one of the most awaited improvements. Although we have seen some adjustments to the 2020 edition, with the addition of press conferences, we still don't feel like we are managing a real team. As a result, we hope to find a more complete transfer system and more detailed statistics.

• 3. FIFA fans were delighted last year when the "Volta" mode was announced. However, the long-awaited street mode developed for many to disappointment - there are simply too few exciting modes for the game designed for tricks in backyards and Co.

• 4. Remove the “Pay-to-win” character from FIFA Ultimate Team: unfortunately, there is currently a strong correlation between the money for FIFA 21 Coins you put into FUT and the quality of your team. So you have to pay to buy the best players and hope to win. We believe that betting on a progression-based game would encourage players to spend more time on it.

• 5. Improve goalkeeper AI: the goalkeeper is the only player over whom you have no control, so it's important that he has a regular and consistent level. Currently, his gestures are too random, it is difficult to count on him.

• 6. VAR: this method is controversial on real football fields, but in the game it would seem useful to have video assistance for refereeing, if only to capture our game ...

• 7. The return of Juventus and Camp Nou: if EA Games has been the holder of the biggest licenses for many years, this year the Juventus team and the Camp Nou stadium were noted for their absence. We hope for FIFA to recover the rights.

• 8. Cross-play between players: how about playing FIFA 21 against a friend who owns an Xbox? This feature often requested by users is a possibility to consider.

• 10. Customization of kits and stadiums: to offer official jerseys, EA Games must work with sponsors, an operation that is, to say the least, costly…So why not allow players to customize them themselves? This new setting could be a good compromise.

When Can We Expect New Official Information About FIFA 21?

We expect the official announcement for FIFA 21 at the EA Play Live event on June 18. At this event, which will take place purely digitally this year due to the COVID 19 situation, Electronic Arts is presenting new content.

The stream on EA.com starts on June 18. The first hints about new features could already be made here. And who knows? Maybe the first trailer can already be seen.

On June 5, EA Sports announced that the EA Play live event would be postponed for a week. The original date was June 11th and 12th.

We will keep you up to date with all information and news over the next few weeks and months until the official release of FIFA 21.