The next-gen editions of FIFA 21 and Madden NFL 21 will be available to download on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S starting December 4, several weeks after the new consoles launch, with free upgrades for current-gen owners. Just like every other major publisher and developer, EA has begun preparing for the launch of the next-gen consoles and has already revealed that EA Play will be included in Xbox Game Pass beginning on November 10.

EA has already confirmed that players who have already purchased a copy of either game on current hardware will be able to upgrade to the next-gen edition at no extra cost. This will be part of the Dual Entitlement program that the publisher is running for its titles, which lets players upgrade to an enhanced version on the same family of consoles. For the new FIFA and Madden games, players will be able to get the next-gen releases for a year when the offer will be withdrawn. The deal will also work for physical copies, but users will need to contact EA directly to get an upgrade code.

Players will have to wait a little longer after consoles launch to get access to next-gen editions of both FIFA 21 and Madden NFL 21. EA has revealed that both games will arrive on the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on December 4, three weeks after the consoles officially launch. The move means users will have to make do with the current versions of the titles that released earlier this year. Unfortunately, the company did not go into details about what players can expect in terms of enhancements from the games. EA simply stated that fans will experience much faster load times and graphical improvements. That means players will have to wait a little longer to see the next-gen games in action for the first time.


EA faced controversy earlier in the month when it emerged that FIFA 21 on the Nintendo Switch was essentially exactly the same as FIFA 20. The only noticeable differences were roster updates for the different teams and a refresh to the menus and UI. But the rest of the gameplay and presentation was no different from players had already experienced by playing the older game.

Although EA had never confirmed exactly when FIFA 21 and Madden NFL 21 would release on next-gen consoles, fans will no doubt be upset to discover that they won't be able to play the upgraded versions of the games until December. Hopefully, the slight delay will mean that the games launch with few issues and will not feature any major bugs or technical issues.

FIFA 21 and Madden NFL 21 are available now for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC, and it will launch on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on November 4.