If you have been planning on checking out FIFA 21 before its release but you don't have an active EA Play subscription, you're now completely out of luck. For the first time during the PlayStation 4 generation, EA Sports has confirmed that its latest football simulator will not have a free demo available for all on the PlayStation Store. EA Play members will still gain access to a 10-hour trial on 1st October 2020, but that's the only way you'll be able to sample its offerings prior to launch.
This news comes out of the official EA Sports FIFA Twitter account, with the reason stated as: "We aren't releasing a demo for FIFA 21. Instead we've made the decision to focus our development team's time on delivering the best full game experience for current & next-gen consoles."
Presumably, a lot of work is going into getting the PlayStation 5 version in tiptop shape, but given the state that Madden NFL 21 recently released in, this could be seen as a bit of a worrying sign. Let's hope FIFA 21 doesn't suffer the same fate and hasn't dropped any features as we head into the next generation of consoles. That happens far too often nowadays.
Had you been hoping to play the FIFA 21 demo? Will you now sign up for EA Play to get your hands on the 10-hour trials? Let us know in the comments below.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 24
They probably can make the majority of their income just from the people who religiously buy the game every year and dive into Ultimate Team. They could probably afford to only bother improving the game every 3-5 years.
Just a way of getting people to sign up to EA Access / Play or whatever it’s called now
"Presumably, a lot of work is going into getting the PlayStation 5 version in tiptop shape, but given the state that Madden NFL 21 recently released in, this could be seen as a bit of a worrying sign"
Forget it, they ain't getting nothing into tiptop shape. They're only going into settings and changing the slider to 4K, that's it. They can keep the demo to themselves. PES 2020/21 will still look and play better.
If the full version is up to scratch then fine, I can take not having a demo but I'm struggling to envisage it being much better than last year! It also does smack of a sneaky way of forcing people to sign up to EAPLAY to preview the game.
Game Pass, guys. Get all the EA games you want from december onwards.
And on a sidenote: if you want to play a demo, just play any previous installment.
No need for a demo you will either buy the game or not.
@Friendly EA Play isn't the same as Game Pass, FIFA 21 won't be available on the service from day one. It only includes older titles.
I usually check out both the fifa and pes demos so it's gonna be odd this year for sure. This is maybe in retaliation to how Madden was received by the masses this year.
I can't imagine anybody who has been swayed either way by a FIFA demo in recent years, in honesty.
You know what you're getting. An undercooked shiny new mode that absolutely nobody wants (like The Journey or Volta.) Minor improvements to Ultimate Team gameplay and options. New shiny Ultimate Team cards. Reintroducing things to gameplay that were removed in some version in the past and EA claiming that they're "new." No changes to anything else.
This year, there's not even an undercooked shiny new mode.
@LiamCroft you’re right. My bad.
However, if you consider how EA usually adds games to EA Play, apparently it will be available 4 months after release? And until then, Fifa 2020 might be just fine for some people. Or am I missing something here?
https://www.reddit.com/r/XboxGamePass/comments/iuy9sx/will_fifa_21_be_included_in_game_pass/
Any news on a release date for the Ps5 version?
I know we can get the PS4 copy and upgrade for free but I'd rather it feel like I have something new to play on my new console
I'll wait till it's £1.50 unless the reviews are good and will bite at £2.
They didn't feel like making a demo because FIFA 20 was basically the same the game. They just think you should play the previous demo and imagine what it would be like if the players were updated, but don't imagine too well or you might not buy the new game!
@FX102A they do only improve it every few years. Sadly, it's because they can get away with it.
The worst company ever,they are just getting greedier by the day.
Cutting a demo would not be that hard. Just take the full game, make it so every match ends at half time and you only have access to one or two venues and teams, and you're done. The fact of the matter is that nobody who buys these games does so for anything other than to have the latest version, so I guess this is at least being somewhat honest about their ***** business practices?
Ok guys people are mad the Madden and NHL games haven't budged an inch since last year and hate our focus on microtransactions. How do we avoid that with Fifa?
No demo so people have to buy our game day one and cant complain coz we already got their money!
I liked having the FIFA and PES demos to compare, you essentially got a limited local multiplayer mode. I played them loads when I first got my PS4 with my brother. Really not a fan of demos becoming locked behind pre-orders or subscription services, it’s all a bit seedy.
Wasn't planning to buy it this year anyway. I'll give it a miss for a year or two. Only ever really play it in local co-op with a mate anyway, and since we can't get together at the mo there's no need.
@Friendly no chance FIFA 21 will be on EA Play in 4 months time. They usually put the latest FIFA on there when the season is over, so sometime around June (or in this case later because the season extended due to COVID). So, essentially, if you want to play FIFA, then EA Play isn't the way to do it.
@tomassi or play the previous installment which is more or less the same anyway
To be fair, it doesn't need one, it's the exact same "game" as the last one.
No need for demo, we all know how it will look like - FIFA 20 + 1% improvement
@Friendly you say that, and I can't argue, but any actual football fan will want the latest kits, players etc etc anyway. I know the game will not change year on year, but I'm happy to spend £50 for a year of consistent entertainment (IMO). I don't play online or FUT or anything so not bothered about that stuff.
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