FIFA 18: All you need to know - release date, ratings, price, specifications

EA Sports are almost ready to roll out their latest and biggest ever offering later this month. One of the world's most popular console gaming franchises, FIFA is set to embark on its annual big launch with the release of FIFA 18.

Having captured the fancy of football fans the world over, FIFA 18 promises to break new barriers in the world of football gaming and fans of the label are eagerly awaiting the latest release.

But, before we head into the details of FIFA 18, let's take a look at the history and evolution of EA Sports' grandest offering, which, until recently, wasn't the best out there.

History and Evolution

Started in 1993, FIFA wasn't as slick or good-looking back in the day when it started out. However, FIFA was the first video game to have an official license from FIFA, world football's governing body. Now, more than 24 years later, FIFA 18 will hit the stands with more licensed teams, leagues, and stadiums than ever before. The first versions of EA Sports FIFA had only club teams, with national teams coming into play later.

While EA Sports FIFA started off in 1993 as FIFA International Soccer, it wasn't until 1996 that EA got official player licenses from FIFPro. The rest, as they say, is history. Until now, till FIFA 17, 24 different console and PC versions of EA Sports FIFA have been released, with FIFA 18 poised to be the 25th.

Overview of the game

The work towards FIFA 18 started immediately after FIFA 17 was rolled out in September 2016 and the newest installment from EA Sports FIFA boasts quite a few new features to keep its fans on their toes. After FIFA 17, FIFA 18 will be the second FIFA label to be powered by a Frostbite 3 game engine.

Three different editions of FIFA 18 will be released this time out, with the brand new Icon edition a special attraction this time around. The three different editions are Icon edition, Ronaldo edition, and Standard edition.

The new FIFA edition will also see the return of Alex Hunter in "The Journey", which returns for its second season with brand new features. Hunter will have the likes of Ronaldo, Dele Alli, Antoine Griezmann alongside him in the story mode which promises to be much better this time out.

This week, EA Sports have revealed the ratings of FIFA 18's top 100 players and the full lists can be found here (81-100), here (61-80) and here (41-60).

Release date

FIFA 18 will be released on 29th September across multiple platforms. All the versions will be simultaneously released worldwide on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. The demo version will be released on 15th September.

What to expect from the game?

EA Sports' Gameplay Producer Samuel Rivera talked up what FIFA 18 will be like at the Gamescom event with IGN last month which can be viewed in the video below.

Rivera explained the AI has been strongly refurbished for FIFA 18 and changes have been made keeping in mind what fans see on the pitch in reality.

The idea is to blur the lines between what's real and what's virtual to the point where you can't tell the difference. He also talked about the tactical approach the game has adopted in order to make the game more realistic and more suited to how players actually play on the field. He further discussed player attributes and how a particular player's strengths and weaknesses allow or prevent him from performing certain complex actions in the game.

Price of the game across platforms

FIFA 18's price list

FIFA 18 is available for pre-order for a price of Rs. 3500 for the Standard Edition, Rs. 4499 for the Ronaldo Edition, Rs. 5499 for the Icon Edition and will release for Xbox One, PS4, PS3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch and PC.

Minimum and recommended specifications for the game on PC

DIRECTX 12

MINIMUM SPECIFICATION

OS: Windows 10 - 64-Bit **

CPU: Intel i3 6300T or equivalent benchmark (5,199) - Intel i3 4340 (5,226), and Intel i3 4350 (5,302) as alternatives.

AMD equivalent is AMD Athlon X4 870K (5,219) - AMD FX-4350 (5,272) and FX-4330 (5,297) as alternatives.

RAM: 8GB

Hard Drive Space Required: 50.0 GB

Minimum Supported Video Cards: NVidia GeForce GTX 660 (4,116) 2GB or equivalent * AMD equivalent is Radeon RX 460 (4,218)/R9 270 (4,258)/R7 370 (4,258)

DirectX: 12

RECOMMENDED SPECIFICATION

OS: Windows 10 - 64-Bit

CPU: Intel i3 6300T or equivalent benchmark (5,199) - Intel i3 4340 (5,226), and Intel i3 4350 (5,302) as alternatives.

AMD equivalent is AMD Athlon X4 870K (5,219) - AMD FX-4350 (5,272) and FX-4330 (5,297) as alternatives.

RAM: 8GB

Hard Drive Space Required: 50.0 GB

Minimum Supported Video Cards: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 or AMD Radeon R9 270X

DirectX: 12.0

DIRECTX 11

MINIMUM SPECIFICATION

OS: Windows 7/8.1/10 - 64-Bit

CPU: Intel Core i3-2100 @ 3.1GHz or AMD Phenom II X4 965 @ 3.4 GHz

RAM: 8GB

Hard Drive Space Required: 50.0 GB

Minimum Supported Video Cards: NVIDIA GTX 460 or AMD Radeon R7 260

DirectX: 11.0

RECOMMENDED SPECIFICATION

OS: Windows 7/8.1/10 - 64-Bit

CPU: Intel i5-3550K @ 3.40GHz or AMD FX 8150 @ 3.6GHz

RAM: 8GB

Hard Drive Space Required: 50.0 GB

Minimum Supported Video Cards: NVIDIA GTX 660 or AMD Radeon R9 270

DirectX: 11.0