At EA Play 2020, the successor to FIFA 20 was showcased: a question arises: Can players play against each other across platforms?
FIFA 21 introduced: In the night from Thursday to Friday, initial glimpses of the new FIFA title were shown. The first trailer of FIFA 21 revealed that it will be released on October 9.
It is confirmed that at this point it will be fully playable on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, while the Nintendo Switch will again only receive a scaled-down legacy version. Later, it can also be played on next-gen consoles. But can players still compete against each other if they have different consoles?
EA says: Crossplay is a long-term plan
Crossplay as a fan wish: Looking at the reactions to the announcement, it quickly becomes clear that some fans desire crossplay between the different platforms. For instance, the prominent FIFA streamer Castro1021 reacted on Twitter simply as follows:
C
R
O
S
SP
L
A
Y— Castro1021 (@Castro1021) June 18, 2020
Several other commentators joined in. EA is keeping the topic of crossplay somewhat open for now.
This is what EA Sports says about crossplay: In an FAQ about FIFA 21, EA Sports made it clear that crossplay is indeed under discussion for FIFA.
“Giving our players the opportunity to compete against each other, regardless of the platform they are playing EA SPORTS FIFA on, is a long-term goal of ours,” the developers stated (via EA). However, they currently have no information about it: “We are still exploring the integration and will keep you updated as soon as there are news.”
It is noticeable that in the statement, EA SPORTS FIFA is referred to generally, not specifically FIFA 21. Therefore, it is possible that crossplay will still be a wait.
In general, EA has announced further information about FIFA 21 for August. The various editions of the game from which players can choose have already been announced. A complete overview of the FIFA 21 editions can be found here.
