EA details all the new features coming to FIFA 22 Ultimate Team

EA has detailed a lengthy list of changes being made to its popular Ultimate Team mode in FIFA 22, including some tweaks designed to require less commitment from players during weekends.

In a Pitch Notes blog on the game’s website, FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) lead producer Mike Barnucz goes into detail on a number of new features that will be added to the mode this year.

The FUT Champions contest, which usually takes place from Friday evenings to Monday mornings, will now be spread throughout the week with a new structure including Champions Play-Offs and Finals.

When players earn enough Qualification Points in Division Rivals, they’ll automatically be entered into the Play-Offs, and can start playing whenever they’re ready.

The Play-Offs are open for the duration of a season (around six weeks), and players will play a limited number of games, earning points to earn rewards.

If they earn enough points, they’ll get a Finals Qualification Token, which lets them take part in the main FUT Champions Finals. These take place on weekends, like the Weekend League in FIFA 21 did, and give bigger rewards depending on where players finish.

Elsewhere in FUT, Division Rivals – which EA says is the most popular FUT mode – is getting a restructure to reduce weekly match requirements and give players new ways to earn rewards for playing at the level they’re comfortable with.

Division Rivals is moving to a new ladder system, where each division is made of ranks and stages. When players win a game they’ll progress a stage, and if they start a winning stream they’ll move forward multiple stages, earning new rewards as they pass certain ranks.

At the end of each season, there will be a refresh and players will roll back to a lower division, to give them something to aim towards in the following season.

On the pitch, the game will introduce new FUT Heroes, who are special players from the contemporary era of football and are based on specific moments in their career.

FUT Heroes are different to Icons in that they’re also assigned a league. For example, the Tim Cahill FUT Hero is assigned to the Premier League, meaning he’ll get a green chemistry link with any other Premier League player.

Stadium customisation is also seeing improvements, with new crowd customisation options, including crowd cards, two-stick banners and flags, and a new VIP area in the stadium which can be decorated with its own TIFO display.

There will also be new seasonal themes that are shared across both FUT and the Volta Football street mode. The first season’s theme will be Future Football and will feature futuristic kits, stadium themes, TIFOs, VIP areas and pitch trophies.

Previous Pitch Notes articles for FIFA 22 have highlighted the changes made to gameplay, Pro Clubs mode and Career mode.

FIFA 22 will be released on October 1 for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC and Stadia.