FIFA 21 Trailer Showcases New Gameplay Additions

The official reveal trailer for FIFA 21 released on Thursday, a day after it was announced that 21-year-old French international and Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe would headline as the game’s newest cover athlete. 

The reveal trailer allowed for fans to experience a more in-depth feel of the gameplay on top of what the teaser trailer was able to offer earlier this summer. EA also gave viewers a sneak peek of a new intelligent gameplay style that will include a new agile dribbling system, positioning personality and creative off-ball runs. The full game will reveal sometime in August, EA announced.

Career mode will feature a new way for players to manage every moment, by being able to drop in and out of games to take control of the team during key moments. A revamped growth system, enhanced opposition AI, and new ways to sign players highlight additions made to a mode that has typically been underrepresented.

With the first look at FIFA Ultimate Team, it was teased that Manchester United legend and former French international forward Eric Cantona would be the latest icon to be added to the games list of storied players that once graced the pitch, such as Diego Maradona, Pele, and Andrea Pirlo. Ultimate Team will feature an online co-op mode which will allow for friends to team up and earn rewards.

FIFA 21’s primary catchphrase is to “Feel Next Level” in co-alignment with a new series of next-generation consoles that will be gracing the gaming world this upcoming holiday season such as the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. The Next Level experience will feature controller haptics specifically on PS5 to offer players responsive haptic feedback, faster load times, off-ball humanization, an improved lighting system to help with the games realism and presentation and spatialized audio for a more immersive stadium experience. 

Mbappe joins an elite list of cover athletes to star on the illustrious cover such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. FIFA 20 featured Real Madrid’s Eden Hazard and Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk on the cover. Mbappe will be the first solo-cover player since Ronaldo on FIFA 19.

“I can’t wait to play this, it’s a dream come true” Mbappe said after the announcement on Wednesday. “I’ve been playing this game since I was a kid and I am honored to represent a whole new generation of footballers and be in the same group as many other amazing footballers who I now share this honor with.”

“As our FIFA franchise accelerates towards the next generation of player experience, we know our cover athlete needs to truly embody both the future of our game and the future of football as a whole,” EA Sports executive vice president Cam Weber said of the announcement. “Kylian represents what we’re bringing to the experience this year, from his commitment to advancing football culture, to his deep social connections and relentless desire to take his game to the next level.”

In order to allow users to get the most out of the game, EA has promised the notion of Dual Entitlement, allowing those who download FIFA 21 digitally on current platforms to have a free download for the new next-gen systems post purchase. EA has confirmed this with all of their sports titles releasing in advance of the PS5 and Xbox Series X, which both have yet to announce themselves a specified launch date but are expected towards the end of this year.

The latest installment of the wildly popular soccer series is slated for an Oct. 9 release date on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC via Origin and Steam. The release date is slightly later than its usual late-September launch because of complications from the coronavirus. Standard pricing for the game remains at $59.99, with EA additionally launching a Champions Edition at $79.99 and an Ultimate Edition for $99.99. 

Both the Champions and Ultimate Editions include a three-day early access period for pre-orders in addition to special FIFA Ultimate Team items, gold packs, kits and icons available for play.