FIFA 19 news: Champions League update, release date, E3 gameplay

FIFA fans may finally be able to take their team to European glory this year after EA Sports let slip they are after the rights to the Champions League and Europa League.

FIFA 19 could feature the official European tournaments in their game after Konami decided to drop the rights they held with UEFA earlier this year.

Previously, FIFA games had created their own version of the tournaments, without official imaging, stadiums or trophies.

Italian publication Gazette della Sport claims FIFA 19 will include the full rights to the Seri A and Coppa Italia, giving FIFA the rights to most of the more popular world league and tournaments. 

FIFA players are currently enjoying the World Cup mode on FIFA 18 that allows gamers to collect international player cards and take their team to World Cup glory online. 

Why is FIFA 19 having Champions league rights important?

FIFA acquiring the rights to both European tournaments is a big opportunity for EA Sports to secure itself as the biggest football game in the world.

Allowing players to live out their Champions league dreams in FIFA 19 will ensure that players, both returning and new, will pick up the game when it is released. 

Konami has been slipping out of contention in the football video game space with Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) since they lost a the rights earlier this year, though they still hold some rights to other minor world leagues. 

PES also lost a partnership with German football team Borussia Dortmund, which is another significant blow.

Players could be able to take on the Champions league tournament officially in Career mode on FIFA 19, guiding their team to lift the official trophy, in all the glory they can imagine, which is a big draw for football fans. 

What is the FIFA 19 release date? Will we see FIFA 19 at E3?

With EA Sports making a big show at E3 2018 in LA next week, FIFA fans can expect to get a fresh look at FIFA 19.

An official release date for FIFA 19 has not been announced by EA Sports, though it is likely to be giving an official date at E3.

EA Sports typically release a new FIFA game in late September, just before the start of a new league campaign, so fans should expect FIFA 19 to drop around that time. 

They will also want to drop FIFA around the end of the summer to avoid the slew of AAA games releasing in the fall, including Red Dead Redemption 2, CoD Black Ops 4 and EA Sports’ very own Battlefield V.

EA Sports have been using the Frostbite Engine for all their FIFA games in the last few years, and it is expected to continue this year, with updated facial reactions and payer interactions in-game. 

FIFA 19 is also confirmed to be released on the Nintendo Switch, with “vastly improved graphics despite not being on the Frostbite Engine”, according to Andei Lazarescu, supervising producer for the FIFA World Cup mode.