Video Games

Set to release on September 27, 2022, FIFA 23 is fast-approaching. Less fast, however, are the game's top two players: Karim Benzema and Robert Lewandowski.

The first FIFA to release since Real Madrid's UEFA Champions League trophy and the last before the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Benzema's place at No. 1 in the game's player ratings is a fitting one. His club won the most recent Champions League, and his home country, France, won the most recent World Cup.

Each rated at 91, EA Sports give the two strikers the edge atop their rankings despite slower sprint speeds (both at 80 or under) and tied overall ratings with three other superstars: Kylian Mbappé, Kevin De Bruyne and Lionel Messi. Although, if English Premier League play had not paused, perhaps Erling Haaland's relentless goalscoring pace may have pushed him above them all.

While club football is paused for the international break, fans will be able to get their fix virtually. FIFA 23's release means a return to simulated soccer, but with some exciting advancements over the last title.

At the core of the new game, EA has been marketing a new HyperMotion2 technology—which calls upon more motion-captured animations than ever and a machine-learning system to enhance and continually revamp gameplay.

Another exciting core addition is the insistence on full crossplay, which should improve matchmaking and expand the FIFA Ultimate Team marketplace. Interestingly, HyperMotion2 will only be available to players on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Stadia and PC, so it remains unclear how games between those users and gamers on PS4 and Xbox One will shake out.

Regardless, all players will be able to get in the action against each other for the first (and last) time in FIFA history (before the title switch to EA Sports FC).

All players will also be able to enjoy the silliest addition in recent memory: Ted Lasso and his AFC Richmond club. After the hit show won an Emmy and Lasso's actor himself, Jason Sudeikis, won a Golden Globe, he and the club have officially won a place in FIFA 23's talent pool. There is word yet on how highly their fictional stars—Jamie Tartt, Roy Kent and Sam Obisanya—will be rated.

Last but not least, there should be some new features implemented here and there, but the game's roster isn't solely being expanded by television talent. In another FIFA first, FIFA 23 will be the first in the series to feature women's club football as well.

So, when players load in on September 27, they'll be opening the doors to England's Women's Super League and France's Division 1 Féminine—alongside the national teams and clubs that fans have come to expect from the franchise.

Much of the focus on new video games centers around how they look, but EA Sports' FIFA 23 will capture attention with how it sounds.

That's because the newest edition of the popular soccer video game franchise announced its soundtrack will feature more than 100 songs from artists such as Bad Bunny, Nas, Jack Harlow, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and more.

The Sound of The World’s Game. 🔊🌍

Introducing the #FIFA23 Soundtrack.
Featuring over 100 songs from artists representing 34 countries. Listen now on @Spotify.

Listen now 👇https://t.co/XczKLnaDNY pic.twitter.com/UU84G89CdR

— EA SPORTS FC (@EASPORTSFC) September 22, 2022

Harlow and others also designed some of the game's exclusive new FUT Kits.

The menu soundtrack alone will have 57 new tracks from the likes of Phoenix, Flume, MILKBLOOD, ODESZA and more, with music coming from a variety of genres and countries.

The sounds don't stop at the menu, as FIFA 23's VOLTA soundtrack will have beats from Nas, Denzel Curry, Quevedo and Remi Wolf in a mix of hip hop, electronic dance and pop music while gamers try out their virtual soccer skills on the streets instead of the world-famous pitches.

Gamers who are more interested in the gameplay than the music will have the opportunity to control some of soccer's most beloved fictional characters, as coach Ted Lasso and the players of AFC Richmond will also be featured in FIFA 23.

Believe it. #FIFA23 x @TedLasso

He's proven he belongs in the game, now Ted Lasso and @AFCRichmond are playable in FIFA 23 starting September 30.

Learn more 👇https://t.co/n4eQXTC4f4 pic.twitter.com/M9tIiqKHPx

— EA SPORTS FC (@EASPORTSFC) September 21, 2022

Whether it is Lasso and Coach Beard on the sidelines or Roy Kent, Jamie Tartt, Dani Rojas and Sam Obisanya on the field at AFC Richmond's home ground of Nelson Road, the characters will all be integrated into the game.

FIFA 23 will be released on Sept. 30 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Stadia, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

After some recent teases, EA Sports has confirmed Ted Lasso's AFC Richmond squad will be featured as a playable team in FIFA 23.

EA made the announcement on Wednesday:

I've got goosebumps. Seein’ my guys in CGI is so weird. Except Roy for some reason. pic.twitter.com/YqPuvw2jHK

— Ted Lasso (@TedLasso) September 21, 2022

The news comes after the Ted Lasso Twitter account made a vague post earlier this week that got the eyes emoji from EA Sports FIFA.

👀

— EA SPORTS FC (@EASPORTSFC) September 20, 2022

Internet sleuths have also been hard at work trying to find information about the new FIFA. While not on the scale of the Grand Theft Auto 6 leak, one Reddit user discovered last week that AFC Richmond appeared to be listed as a playable team in this year's game.

For those who don't know, AFC Richmond owner Rebecca Welton hired Ted Lasso to manage the struggling Premier League club in an attempt to ruin them as punishment for her ex-husband cheating on her.

While it seemed like a foolproof plan since Lasso was a college football coach from Kansas with no experience in soccer, the mustachioed man used his good-nature to win over the hearts and minds of Welton and the club.

Even though though things didn't ultimately work out in Lasso's first season because Richmond was relegated following a 1-0 loss to Manchester City, the coach and club owner came together to get back to the Premier League.

Despite some unusual personal detours and storylines along the way, Lasso's second season in the manager's seat turned into a triumph. Richmond earned a promotion thanks to a tie vs. Brentford in its final game.

As AFC Richmond prepares for its next season under coach Lasso, the club and its players will get to experience the thrill of being in the signature soccer video-game franchise for the first time.

FIFA 23 drops worldwide on Sept. 30 for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and PC.

While FIFA 23 isn't reinventing the wheel, the series is making adjustments for its last hoorah. Before the title change to "EA Sports FC," EA Sports is bringing some new content and quality-of-life improvements to its longstanding franchise.

For the first time in FIFA's history, 23 has placed a woman on the global cover—as Australian forward Sam Kerr shares the Ultimate Edition's spotlight with France forward Kylian Mbappé. And it's a fitting title for that franchise first, with this being the first FIFA to have full crossplay and women's football clubs.

The crossplay feature should yield some possibly unexpected benefits. When the game releases on September 27, 2022, the competitive field and trade market will be available to players across PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Stadia and PC. This means it'll be easier for users to play with friends who use other systems, but—likely more importantly—it should benefit competitive matchmaking and the FIFA Ultimate Team in-game economy.

Past the QOL improvement heralded by crossplay, the game is delivering new content as well. The aforementioned women's clubs will expand the series' traditionally available teams to include top clubs from England's Women's Super League and France's Division 1 Féminine. Further, the game is also leaning into its quadrennial opportunity: allowing players to dive headfirst into both the men's and women's World Cups.

Nearly two months before the men's Qatar World Cup and before the women's Australia and New Zealand tournament, users can help their favorite nations virtually compete for gold.

While World Cup play is certainly not new to the FIFA franchise, it's a welcome return every four years. This time around, gamers on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Stadia and PC will also be able to experience the festivities with new technology: FIFA 23's HyperMotion2.

The new gameplay tech is restricted to the title's current-gen systems and is centered around more motion-captured animations than ever before, as well as a new emphasis on machine learning.

With EA claiming to have captured "9.2 million frames of advanced match capture," HyperMotion2's animations are opening the game up visually and mechanically. The former front connotes greater aesthetic realism, with the latter promising new dribbling, shooting and defending mechanics.

Finally, the machine-learning component is an intriguing one. The system's advancements are intended to expand the game's animations even further—rewriting and creating new animations "in real time" based on match capture. If it works as intended, FIFA 23 may continue looking and feeling relatively new to players well into its life cycle.

WarGames is coming to Survivor Series.

WWE chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque revealed the WCW-originated concept will make its Survivor Series debut this year, replacing the traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series match concept.

“We’ll have a men’s WarGames match and a women’s WarGames match. The tradition of the Survivor Series has ebbed and flowed and changed slightly over time, but this will be similar to that,” Levesque told David Shoemaker and Oliver Lee Bateman of The Ringer. “This will not be Raw versus SmackDown. It will be much more story-line driven. I still look at it as a traditional component to Survivor Series in there because it’s large teams of people competing. We just upped the ante a little bit with WarGames and made it evolve.”

WarGames features teams competing in an elimination 5-on-5 match, featuring two rings side-by-side and covered by a massive steel cage.

Dusty Rhodes came up with the concept in 1987 after watching Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. It debuted as part of Jim Crockett Promotions and then became a staple for WCW, becoming one of the most iconic match types in wrestling history. The 1991 and 1992 WarGames matches are among the best cage matches of all time.

The concept vanished from wrestling when WCW sold to WWE until Levesque brought it back in 2017 while running NXT. Eight WarGames matches have been held in NXT since its return, all of which received positive feedback from fans.

With Levesque now taking over WWE's creative direction from Vince McMahon, it appears he's determined to bring the WarGames revival to pro wrestling's biggest stage.

“Survivor Series has been an amazing event for 36 years. And it needs to evolve a little bit and this year seemed like the right time to do it,” Levesque said. “We’re going to go to the TD Garden in Boston on the 26th, and it’s already about as close as you get [to] sold out without us [announcing the WarGames matches]. But you know, this is about serving our fans. I wanna give them everything they can have.”

Recent Survivor Series iterations were fraught with largely bland creative decisions, featuring matches that pitted SmackDown vs. Raw with little-to-no stakes. Making matters worse, the WWE draft often came in the weeks leading up to Survivor Series, leaving performers fighting against the brand they were just representing on television not long ago. Too often, it felt like filler programming, with even stellar matches falling flat due to the lack of stakes.

That should not be a problem for the 2022 Premium Live Event, with Levesque eschewing the red vs. blue pattern to create storyline-driven matches.

The Bloodline seems like a mortal lock for the men's WarGames match after adding Solo Sikoa to the fold at Clash at the Castle. Logic would dictate a group of wrestlers wronged by The Bloodline—Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens and Matt Riddle being among the shortlist of potential candidates—taking them on in an all-out blood feud.

The women's match will likely feature Damage CTRL, the new stable featuring Bayley, IYO SKY and Dakota Kai, and a pair of partners taking on a group that includes Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss and Asuka. The groups put together a well-received six-woman tag at Clash at the Castle, and settling their feud inside WarGames would make storyline sense.

Raquel Rodriguez and Aliyah could round up the face side of the equation after losing the women's tag team championships to Sky and Kai.

Regardless, Survivor Series is shaping up to be a must-watch event for the first time in a long time.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

Rockstar Games released a statement Monday confirming the validity of Grand Theft Auto VI leaks that went viral on social media over the weekend.

A Message from Rockstar Games pic.twitter.com/T4Wztu8RW8

— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) September 19, 2022

Around 50 minutes of rough footage leaked on GTAForums over the weekend, with a hacker claiming to have even more extended footage and sensitive information related to Rockstar's most popular franchise.

Most of the gameplay footage was in its infancy, featuring placeholder text and green-screen character movement. However, one extended scene was seemingly deep into development and showed a female character named Lucia committing a robbery at a diner.

The footage confirmed rumors there would be a female playable character for the first time in Grand Theft Auto history. Rumors of a return to the famed Vice City, which is a fictionalized version of Miami, were also confirmed by the leak.

First launched in 1997, Grand Theft Auto is one of the most successful video game series in history. While controversial in its content, GTA does massive financial business for Rockstar and has been an overwhelming critical success.

The development of GTA VI has already been fraught with issues, highlighted by delays and changes in Rockstar management. Grand Theft Auto V came out all the way back in 2013. While there have been subsequent updates and an online world introduced, Rockstar missed an entire console generation cycle with the new game's slow development.

Some fans were already critical of the leaked footage, saying it does not look on par with modern games. Suffice it to say, this was not a banner week at Rockstar headquarters.

FIFA 23 is a landmark moment for the annual football powerhouse.

During a normal year, it would merely be a followup to the first truly next-generation feeling game in the series that hit the simulation feel well.

But FIFA 23 marks the end of the partnership between EA and FIFA, ending a 30-year run. Future football games put out by EA Sports will fall under the EA Sports FC banner as a result.

It's also a year where the series hopes again to make strides in various areas besides gameplay itself (though that certainly doesn't go unaddressed either).

The latest trailer for the upcoming game serves as the perfect example:

That's all about FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT), the collect-a-thon mode that gives players a variety of ways to build out rosters and earn further rewards.

One of the most notable things mentioned there is the arrival of FUT Moments, a new single-player mode within FUT that allows players to tackle many different challenges via moments within games. Perhaps even more interesting is the fact rewards dole out based on what difficulty a player selects.

It almost sounds like the mode could function as a tutorial for players if necessary while otherwise offering bite-sized play scenarios that let players invest as much time as they prefer.

Chemistry also gets re-tooled in FIFA 23 FUT. There are no longer restrictions on which positions can form chemistry, which should be a highlight for long-time players. That versatility, plus players now boasting secondary positions, means players have more freedom to construct rosters to their liking.

Crossplay is another major talking point for FUT. It makes the cut here with same-console-generation one-on-one modes while the transfer market itself will remain one global entity.

Besides FUT, one of the other major modes players always want to know about as soon as possible is career mode.

Last year's game finally gave the mode some love, with the club-based mode getting better customization, functionality and endless options. The individual-based mode offered much of the same, plus huge skill trees to grind out via a nice sense of progression.

Playable Highlights is one of the major additions to both styles of career mode. The game projects where the scoring moments of a match will be and then lets players assume control at those points.

A developer diary elaborated on the how and why:

"The highlights themselves are diverse both in terms of types and position on the pitch, replicating the variety of situations that can be encountered in regular matches. They range from typical positional attacks to numerical superiority counter attacks, solo runs, and all the way to set pieces, including free kicks, corners, penalties, and even throw-ins. In Playable Highlights you’ll see everything you’d normally expect in a match, but with less time to make an impact on the outcome, so you'll really have to make your chances count to be successful."

Again, it's another clear emphasis on bite-sized moments for players to grab on a whim. Instead of dedicating an hour or more to a normal-timed match, players can partake in the biggest moments and otherwise let a full match with realistic feeling stats and outcomes happen.

While the club-based mode offers the usual budget-managing tweaks and the ability to take control of real-world managers, arguably the other biggest addition happens in the individual-based mode.

There, a new detail called "personality points" loops in choices players make on the pitch and in their non-football lives. This permits the expansion of a created player's personality, with several classifications (such as Heartbeat, the heart of a club) then offering various bonuses and rewards.

Like in prior years, many of the planned upgrades within specific game modes sound like savvy additional layers atop what was already a solid foundational basis.

For players who like FUT and the two career modes, FIFA 23 indeed has the look of a can't-miss experience, beyond any upcoming partnership and name changes.

Now more than ever, whenever a new sports simulation video game gets ready to drop like the latest FIFA 23 from EA Sports, it's the player ratings that seem to garner the most attention.

Outside of the ratings, what also stands out with the new edition are what's new with the modes and gameplay experience.

FIFA 23 will be the first edition in the series to feature crossplay, so players on the same console generation will be able to play against each other online regardless of whether they have an Xbox or PlayStation console.

For gameplay tweaks, EA Sports is leaning into its HyperMotion 2 technology, which it claims will offer "twice the real-world capture" and "unlock ultra-realistic gameplay in every match across every mode."

The game's most recent trailer highlights the upgrades:

That big revamp atop the usual and expected upgrades across various game modes has the October 1 release looking like the most-hyped entry in the series in a long time.

The latest version also has heightened gameplay features in which gamers can trigger shots with additional power. There are also redesigned set pieces for more control over free kicks, penalties and corners.

As for on-pitch physics, there's advanced impact to make the players' individual limbs more natural for deflections, blocks, situational awareness like avoiding tackles, collisions and other natural interactions.

Perhaps the most important change is the addition of women's club teams from the English and French leagues. The change is also marked by the game's first female cover athlete, Sam Kerr of Chelsea.

Gamers will be able to find new ways to locate their teammates via outside of foot passes, fancy off-the-back passes and volley passes, and don't forget about the improved AI opponents' ability to react and tactically respond to on-pitch situations.

The latest edition drops on September 30 (September 27 for the Ultimate Edition).

Finally, the PC version will have parity with the PlayStation 5 / Xbox Series X|S / Stadia versions. To make sure your PC is compatible and good to go for all of the new generation features, check out this developer diary.

Capping off 30 years of FIFA, EA Sports is delivering a number of franchise firsts before switching to the EA Sports FC moniker. And the last rendition of the iconic series title is wearing those new features proudly, from cover to gameplay.

From the outset, fans who purchase the Ultimate Edition of FIFA 23 will notice two faces front and center: French forward Kylian Mbappé and Australian forward Sam Kerr. Kerr's addition marks the first time in FIFA history that a woman graces the game's global cover, and that inclusion is extended in-game.

In another FIFA first, the 2022-23 title will feature women's club teams—allowing players to compete with England's Women's Super League and France's Division 1 Féminine.

The pool of international women's teams is also expected to expand, as FIFA 23 reflects the growing real-world hype of this time period in the lead-up to the men's and women's 2023 World Cups. With the game releasing on September 27, 2022, fans will be able to get a headstart on the international football frenzy by playing through both the men's World Cup in Qatar and the women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

That emphasis on international competition makes Mbappé's spotlight an obvious one. The 2018 tournament was essentially his breakout party, as the then-19-year-old scored four goals to help Les Bleus win their second-ever World Cup.

Now, the Paris Saint-Germain forward shares FIFA 23's Ultimate Edition cover and holds down the Standard cover single-handedly, just a year after his 28 goals for Paris Saint-Germain led Ligue 1 in scoring.

Speaking of sharing, the game is also making franchise history by delivering the potential for shared competition and Ultimate Team trading. FIFA 23 will feature cross-play across all systems, from last- and current-gen consoles to PC.

Mechanical advancements like the game's HyperMotion2 animation technology and new playing options like Ultimate Team "Moments" mode should be intriguing new additions for fans as well. The former is said to double the in-game animations and allow for the potential of new mechanics—ranging from outside-of-the-foot passes to backheel tackles. The latter will bring a new option for FUT solo grinders, with short-and-sweet scenario gameplay for players, packs and other rewards.

Still, the biggest additions in FIFA 23 are the women's clubs and cross-play. Before leaving 30 years of FIFA behind and moving toward the future of EA Sports FC, the series seems intent on having the deepest talent pool in simulated soccer and the most expansive player community possible.

It's that time of the year. The Champions League is back, the Qatar World Cup is just a couple of months away and a new FIFA—the very last FIFA—is available for purchase.

With EA Sports confirming that its soccer series will officially drop the FIFA title and become "EA Sports FC" starting in 2024, this year's game marks the end of a virtual era. After nearly 30 years of simulated soccer, FIFA 23 arrives on September 27, 2022 with new features and technology befitting the occasion.

In the real world, soccer is marching toward its quadrennial fever pitch. Beginning in November 2022, 32 countries will send their teams to Qatar for the men's World Cup. Then, in July 2023, the women's World Cup will be contested by 32 nations in Australia and New Zealand.

This year's FIFA makes no mistake of its timing, with the Ultimate Edition's cover featuring both French star Kylian Mbappé and Australian star Sam Kerr—as the latter becomes the first woman to grace the game's cover in franchise history.

Within the game, too, the World Cups and cover diversity are reflected. FIFA 23 will allow players to play through both World Cups and, for the first time ever, also give players a chance to enjoy women's club football.

New Features: HyperMotion2, Cross-Play and More

From a technological standpoint, FIFA 23 is shifting to HyperMotion2, which promises double the real-world motion capture and over 6,000 reality-inspired animations. Consequently, these will allow players to enjoy a number of new mechanics—from power shots, bouncing shots and diving headers to outside-of-the-foot passes and backheel tackles.

In another franchise first, FIFA 23 will also feature full cross-play, allowing players from last-gen consoles, current-gen consoles and PC to compete across modes.

While there are a number of new additions to the Career and VOLTA modes, another point of emphasis has been the improvement of the game's AI. As EA explained, the CPU will now be more responsive to score, match time, and available substitutes when adjusting formation and playstyle mid-game.

FUT 2023

The bread and butter of the franchise, Ultimate Team will also be seeing change in FIFA 23. On an elementary level, the mode's updated player ratings should provide some excitement for new and returning players.

Champions League hero for Real Madrid, Karim Benzema is now the game's highest-rated base player with an overall of 92. And, as far as the biggest movers, fellow Frenchman, Paris Saint-Germain striker Hugo Ekitiké's rating has jumped a whopping 15 points—from 61 to a serviceable 76.

In terms of FUT's actual structure, it's the same mode as fans have become used to, but with some adjustments and additions. There's more stadium customization and a revamped chemistry system, as well as expanded matchmaking and market options with the arrival of cross-play.

Lastly, the franchise is delivering a new option for FUT players who prefer to go solo. With "Moments," users will be able to play through single-player challenges that occupy specific in-game scenarios (e.g. scoring with a goalkeeper, coming back from down 0-2, etc.). Beating these challenges will award players with a new "stars" currency, which can then be traded in for players, packs and the like.

Overall, FIFA 23 aims to deliver on a decades-old tradition of authenticity in virtual soccer, while delivering enough change for a worthwhile grand finale for the franchise's name.