The next-gen upgrade for FIFA 21 has arrived a day early, EA Sport’s FIFA Twitter account confirms. The upgrade is available for “most players”, the studio says, meaning those who have purchased FIFA 21 on current-gen consoles can download and play the game on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Worldwide availability is due to follow tomorrow (December 4) as the next-gen versions officially launch. This being said, EA confirms in a blog post that those who have purchased a physical copy of FIFA 21 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One can download the game for next-gen consoles via the PS Store and Microsoft store for free once the game launches.
The same rule applies to digital versions of FIFA 21 on the PS4 or Xbox One. They will be bundled with the next-gen version, ready to download on launch day.
Most players who've purchased #FIFA21 on current gen consoles can now download & play the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X|S version. Worldwide availability will follow as we ramp up towards official launch on December 4.
For more info on Dual Entitlement: https://t.co/0PBE3AuixX
— EA SPORTS FIFA (@EASPORTSFIFA) December 3, 2020
As EA explains, “dual entitlement” is a system that will allow players to upgrade their current-gen copy of FIFA 21 from last-gen consoles to their respective successors, completely free, provided players own either of the new platforms. This is the same deal as Xbox’s advertised “smart delivery” system.
The post further outlines new features for FIFA 21’s next-gen versions, such as player progression, in-game changes, pre-order content, user rewards, crossplay, and competitions.
In other news for FIFA fans, it was recently reported that all players who play FIFA 21 between December 15, 2020 and January 15, 2021 will receive a free David Beckham card. Beckham is being made a Groundbreaker within FIFA’s Volta football mode too. Throughout this limited time offer, the standard edition of FIFA 21 will be rebranded as the “Beckham Edition”.
Digital download launch sales for FIFA 21 were the highest across the entire franchise, with the sequel selling almost a third more copies than last year’s FIFA 20.
FIFA 21 is available on the PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PC before it’s next-gen launch tomorrow.
