EA Sports claimed the UEFA rights in FIFA 19, meaning the game could feature the Champions League. On top of this came the licensing for both the Europa League and UEFA Super Cup, so fans should get excited for that impact on FIFA 20.
This means the likelihood of a European Championship update for the game is greater than ever.
With summer 2020 being filled with Europe’s elite nations fighting for silverware. This is a great opportunity for EA to get back in the race with Konami’s PES 2020, and need to show signs of recovery after losing the rights for Juventus.
Learning from the past
The team at EA are desperate to claw back from their $660 million depreciation in share value off the back have their loss of Juve… or should we say Piemonte Calcio?
One way they in which they can restore their value would be through releasing a Euro 2020 Ultimate Team update similar to the Russian World Cup mode we saw just over a year ago.
The World Cup 2018 update went down a real hit with fans
EA released the World Cup update on May 29th 2018, at this point, EA share value was at 131.25 USD. If you compare that value with the July 2019 value of 87.50 USD you can see how much of benefit the update was to the game developers.
With Konami becoming more and more of a contender for the top spot in football gaming as well as fans jumping ship to PES 2020, EA really need to deliver on this. All the hype surrounding the new Volta street mode already seems to have been lost.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about FIFA 20
The update should follow the same format of its predecessors of the World Cup mode in FIFA 14 and FIFA 18. Not only would this restore their share value but with no information released yet about FIFA 20 Ultimate Team, it could save the game from becoming stale and keep engagement rates that usually drop throughout summer 2020.
Release Date
EA Sports are very consistent with their release dates, and once again the final Friday in September will mark the full release of FIFA 20. This year, that will be Friday, 27 September 2019, but we can expect types of early access too.
The Standard Edition of the game costs £54.99 on PC and £59.99 on PS4 and Xbox One. By pre-ordering you will receive up to three FIFA 20 Ultimate Team rare gold packs (one per week for three weeks), choose one of five mid-version ICON items for five FUT matches and special Edition FUT Kits.
The Journey
The Journey: Champions marked the end of Alex Hunter’s journey mode over the last three versions of FIFA, so what’s next? It looks as if Volta Football is replacing the Journey, but this isn’t confirmed.
The UEFA rights were secured for the Champions League and Europa League last year, and it wouldn’t surprise to see the European Championships appear on the new story mode, as you look to make it into the national squad and challenge for the European crown. Euro 2020 is being staged throughout Europe, creating scope for fantastic stadium atmospheres on the continent on the new FIFA.
The near 69,000 Baku Olympic Stadium is hosting group stage games and quarter-finals for Euro 2020
Ultimate Team
Ultimate Team is the most popular mode in FIFA, but players are still frustrated by the imbalance of purchasing packs from the FUT store, and what you actually get in return. FIFA’s in-game currency has been banned in Belgium due to it breaching gambling laws, defining it as an “illegal game of chance”. It has been shown that the chances of getting an 84+ rated card is just 4.4% in a premium gold pack.
READ MORE: The latest on FIFA 20 Ultimate Team
The new Champions League and Europa League licenses made their way to Ultimate Team, but FIFA didn’t use it to their advantage. A Champions League item rated +1 higher than the base card was a touch lazy, with more man of the match cards surely the way to go. Combining the FUT Icons with historic Champions League performances gone by would get the masses excited, just imagine UCL versions of, Ronaldinho or Steven Gerrard, or even of current stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Ultimate Team was stripped down on the Nintendo Switch, with the new Division Rivals not even featuring. No Frostbite engine meant there was even less to shout about on the at home or handheld platform and knowing that the Switch has the capacity to run it, it would be a huge surprise to not see it appear, or a greater custom engine on FIFA 20.
READ MORE: FIFA 20 Gameplay, improved features & more
More news is coming on FIFA 20 in The Pitch Notes over the next couple of months. Keep tuned to RealSport for more news in the buildup to the new release.
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