The Ultimate Team mode of the FIFA series celebrates its 10th birthday today, on March 19. When does FUT Birthday start in FIFA 19 – the big FUT birthday event?
When was Ultimate Team released? On March 19, 2009, EA Sports ushered in a new era in the FIFA franchise. On that day, the “FIFA Ultimate Team” mode, commonly known as FUT, was launched in FIFA 09.
This marked the beginning of the most successful – and profitable – mode in FIFA history.
Today, March 19, 2019, FUT turns 10 years old. So far, EA Sports has not announced a birthday event for FUT 19 – but this anniversary will certainly not go by without a celebration. After all, “FUT Birthday” has been a tradition for years.
Release date of FUT Birthday – When does the event start?
An official start date is still pending. However, the possible dates can be significantly narrowed down.
Since the FUT Birthday event always starts around March 19, the release date is either:
- March 15 – many initially assumed this date, but instead the Carnival was running
- March 19 – this date seems obvious but is unlikely. Major events in FUT 19 always start on Fridays. So it probably doesn’t start today.
- March 22 – this is the upcoming Friday and the new start date that many experts are now settling on. We also expect it to start on March 22 at 7 PM.
When does the event end? FUT Birthday usually lasts for a week. It should end on March 29.
Keep in mind that this is not official information. EA Sports will likely reveal when it actually starts shortly before the launch.
These contents are conceivable
What can we expect for FUT Birthday? EA Sports is expected to release a FUT Birthday team. This will include upgraded cards of players who were fan favorites in past FUT editions.
In addition to the FUT Birthday cards, there will likely be SBCs, pack offers, and perhaps one or two surprises.
More information about possible FUT Birthday contents and an overview of FUT Birthday in FIFA 18 can be found here:
Brief history of FUT
How FUT started: 10 years ago, the Ultimate Team mode was introduced as a paid DLC. It cost around 10 dollars.
Even in FUT 09, the framework that defines the mode today was already in place: there were chemistry, player, fitness, training, and contract cards, you could choose a stadium and earn coins.
Moreover, it was possible to build your Ultimate Team through smart negotiations in the transfer market or by opening packs. The quality levels gold, silver, and bronze were already present.
After tournaments or seasons, you could search in vain, but you could play offline and online. The basics of FUT, which we still know today, were already present in FUT 09.
Here you can see a trailer for FUT 19:
Over the years, the mode has been expanded with many new features, such as
- in FUT 10 with the TOTW cards,
- in FUT 12 with the TOTY and the TOTS,
- in FUT 16 with FUT Draft
- or in FUT 17 with FUT Champions and SBCs.
However, the most important change was probably in FUT 11: EA Sports decided to offer the Ultimate Team mode for free. This was the breakthrough for FUT, as now countless fans had no barrier to checking out FUT. The number of players and revenue from microtransactions have increased significantly since then.
You can read more about the success story “Ultimate Team” here.
