FIFA 19 Info: Everything You Need to Know About EA's Simulator

Ah, the beautiful game.

For Electronic Arts, it’s the one that comes around just once a year—albeit with a little more polish, a little more sheen. 2018 is no different, as this week heralds the release of FIFA 19, a visually resplendent soccer simulator that offers one of the richest and most engaging single-player experiences this genre has ever seen.

Or so says our glowing review, in which Cody Gravelle showers praise on EA’s robust title and, specifically, The Journey: Champions, which was first drafted into this most prestigious series for FIFA 17. Over the years, the team at EA Sports have iterated and improved upon that core foundation, shipping footballing wonderkid Alex Hunter off to La Liga titans Real Madrid in the process.

But we’re merely scratching the surface, for down below, you’ll find a detailed overview of FIFA 19 and everything it has to offer—just in time for the game’s hotly anticipated release on Friday, September 28.

FIFA 19 officially kicks off on September 28, when EA’s primer soccer series will return to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. A Switch port is also in the works, while the industry mega-publisher refuses to give up on those legacy consoles (see: PS3, Xbox 360), which still prove popular in the world’s emerging markets.

Essential Reading:

FIFA 19 info dump

FIFA 19 – EYNTK

Champions rise...
What is FIFA 19?

It's the latest (and potentially greatest?) entry in EA's lucrative soccer franchise, and the 26th FIFA game (!) overall.

As with each passing year, it continues to iterate and improve on that rock-solid gameplay foundation fans know and love, which brings us to...
What's the Story?

The Journey: Champions, that's what.

First introduced with FIFA 17 two years ago, this is, essentially, FIFA's bumper career mode, wherein players take control of Alex Hunter as he begins to fill the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid.

Meanwhile, Alex Hunter's half-sister, Kim Hunter, tries her luck at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, while renown superstars Kevin De Bruyne, Neymar Jr, Paulo Dybala, and Alex Morgan all feature as guest stars.
Gameplay Tweaks

Among the many incremental tweaks introduced for FIFA 19 is the new Active Touch System (ATS), ensuring your first touch is deft even in the 93rd minute.

EA has also added in dynamic tactics, timed finishing and a marked overhaul of 50/50 challenges, the details of which can be found here.

ATS will no doubt steal the headlines, as it is best described as so:

The new Active Touch System fundamentally changes the way you receive and strike the ball, providing closer control, improved fluidity, more creativity and increased player personality. Utilize a suite of new first touch tools, like the disguised trap, flick-up volleys, or even skill-specific animations, like the Neymar Trap, to beat your opponent and create scoring opportunities.
The Beautiful Game

When combined, all four features help boost FIFA 19's moment-to-moment gameplay, helping to create a near-perfect rendition of the beautiful game. But more on that later.
House Rules

Beyond the core gameplay, FIFA 19 is bringing House Rules to the table. They are, essentially, a series of offline local play options to help put the time in between matches.

Among the rules are Long Range, Headers and Volleys, First To..., and, in a brilliant twist, No Rules, which disregards all fouls and offsides for true footballing anarchy.
Survival Mode

Call of Duty this is not—this year's FIFA ships with a survival mode.

The rules are pretty straightforward, too. Every time a player scores a goal, a random member of their team—goalkeepers notwithstanding—is sent off the pitch.

To make matters more interesting (bizarre?), FIFA 19 adds commentary into the mix to bump up the tension.

We can't wait to hear what Alan Smith has to say about this one.
How Do the Players Rate?

There's an oft-used phrase that says form is temporary, but class is permanent. And while that may hold some degree of truth, the ranking of football's greatest players sparks a big debate with each passing year. And FIFA 19 is no different.

The full, in-depth ranking can be found on EA's dedicated site. Oh, and spoilers: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are once again in a league of their own with 94 apiece.
VAR Ruled Out

FIFA 19 creative director Matt Prior recently announced that, no, VAR won't be rearing its big, controversial head this time around.

It’s definitely something we’ll monitor. If it becomes part of the footballing fabric to the point where it feels weird that it isn’t in a regular game, even if we don’t need it, then it’s something we can look at introducing.
Ultimate Team Returns

You FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) journey awaits.

This team building experience has really taken on a life of its own in recent titles, and is almost big enough to warrant a FIFA game of its own.

It is, essentially, a robust mode in which you can create and customize your own Ultimate Team from scratch, with the option to purchase additional FUT packs if you so choose.

And if you're in need of a refresher, we've got you covered:

FIFA Ultimate Team™ (FUT) is the most popular mode in FIFA, played by millions all over the world every day. FUT lets you build your dream FIFA squad from scratch and compete with it in a variety of single player and online modes.
More Ways to Play

Thanks to Dynamic Tactics and new Player Pick items, FIFA 19 promises to deliver a cutting edge version of FUT:

FIFA 19 Ultimate Team improves on the most popular mode in FIFA with added features like Dynamic Tactics and new Player Pick items, as well as upgrades to existing features like Champions Channel and the Companion App. See what else has changed in FUT and prepare to build your greatest squad yet in FIFA 19.
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Perhaps in fear of stirring controversy in the aftermath of Battlefront II, EA Sports Vice President Daryl Holt has gone on record to claim that FIFA 19 features a loot box model that is overly "sustainable."

It's a different play model and that’s the aspect you need to lean into when we talk about player choice as part of our player-first mantra. They’re given the choice on how they want to compete.

I can earn things in FIFA Ultimate Team just by playing the game, at whatever tier I want to play at. I can also beat you if you have a better-rated team because I’m better than you at FIFA. I don’t worry about what my rating is as a team… That aspect of choice and how we engage with EA Sports is a very different aspect with how we look at the controversy that came up around Battlefront.
Hey, the Crowds Look Kinda Realistic

Gone are the 2D cardboard people of FIFA '98 and in their place are (kinda) realistic football fans who just want to take selfies with their sporting icons.

Welcome to FIFA 19, ladies and gents.
Legacy Consoles Hanging On in There

Yes, FIFA 19 is still coming to both PS3 and Xbox 360, proving that there's still a huge demand for the world's most popular soccer sim in emerging markets.
A Successful Demo to Bring the Hype

Like all modern instalments in the FIFA franchise, number 19 received a pre-release demo to generate hype. It's still available to download, of course. And if that isn't worthy of a Jürgen Klopp fist-pump, we don't know what is.
Console Bundles Aplenty

Per PlayStation Blog, there are a total of six console bundles for FIFA 19 on PS4, ranging from the premium Champions Edition all the way down to the regular 500GB PS4, which brings us to...
Early Access

By securing your copy ahead of time, you'll be able to play FIFA 19 from *checks calendar* today!
Choose the Right Version For You

Not all versions of FIFA 19 are created equal; heed this handy breakdown if you're still unsure of which one to pick up.
Our Final Verdict

In his review for PSLS, Cody Gravelle deemed FIFA 19 to be "yet another crisp, clean, and innovative offering from EA. I’d say that this game is a lot more like FIFA 17 than 18 when it comes to shaking things up, however, which is definitely a good thing."