Perhaps more than any other video game, the cover boy for the FIFA video game franchise is a symbol of who has made it on the world stage. While EA Sports often adds region-specific secondary or even tertiary figures, there is typically just one primary player n. The FIFA 19 cover bucks that trend.
For the latest installment in the preeminent footballing franchise, EA Sports has opted for two of the world’s three best players to grace the FIFA 19 cover.
FIFA 19 Cover
Two champions on one cover. Only on the #FIFA19 Champions & Ultimate Edition https://t.co/ykq6t3EdJZ pic.twitter.com/K6Z9OTxEL8
— EA SPORTS FIFA (@EASPORTSFIFA) June 9, 2018
Cristiano Ronaldo returns for a second straight year while Neymar joins him for the first time. Lionel Messi gets snubbed for a second straight year.
To be fair to Messi, he was on the cover four straight years from 13 to 16. (Marco Reus won a popular vote to be the cover boy for FIFA 17.)
The choice of Ronaldo and Neymar coincides with the Champions and Ultimate editions EA Sports will offer to people who want to pay way more than the normal $60 price for a video game. Doing so gets players access to Ronaldo and Neymar on loan for their FUT teams. The Standard Edition comes with Ronaldo on loan but not Neymar.
The FIFA 19 cover for the Standard Edition features just Ronaldo.
Pre-order #FIFA19 and get the game 3 days early and a lot more! https://t.co/ykq6t3EdJZ pic.twitter.com/w5jHuN9qga
— EA SPORTS FIFA (@EASPORTSFIFA) June 10, 2018
EA announced many new features for FIFA 19 at E3 over the weekend, including the “Active Touch System,” “Dynamic Tactics,” “50/50 Battles,” “Timed Finishing” and “Real Player Motion Technology.” While the names sound cool, they’re really just the little tweaks EA Sports makes every year to justify forcing everyone to pay full price for essentially the same game with updated rosters.
Champions Rise on September 28th. This is #FIFA19. @ChampionsLeague #UCL pic.twitter.com/YHkvbDkg2F
— EA SPORTS FIFA (@EASPORTSFIFA) June 9, 2018
One big new feature this year will be the introduction of the UEFA Champions League. In the past, players had to pretend they were in the Champions League, as EA Sports did not have the rights to the images and likenesses and instead threw you into a nondescript continental competition. Finally, you can actually make Arsenal lift the Champions League trophy!
But chances are, you’ll want to play with FIFA 19 cover boys Ronaldo or Neymar.
The FIFA 19 release date is September 28, 2018.