Fifa 18 World Cup update: EA sports and Ronaldo announce release date of special download

The download will be entirely free and launch before the tournament starts

(Getty Images)

Fifa will get a special World Cup update at the end of May, EA Sports has announced.

Developers announced the release date with a special video from Cristiano Ronaldo. It will arrive on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox and other consoles at the end of May, in time for the real tournament.

The update will bring World Cup teams and players and will be available entirely for free, developers said.

The announcement page on the EA website did not appear to be loading at the time of publication, meaning that details of the update are still sparse.

The update had long been rumoured after fans spotted hints in Fifa's code that there could be special Ultimate Team updates released for the World Cup. Alongside the normal FUT packs were the words "Free FIFA World Cup Pack".

But the update is not expected to be limited to FUT. The normal versions of the game should receive updates with the full teams and players for the World Cup, all ready for the beginning of the tournament, and all of the tournament's 12 stadiums will be recreated in the game.

The update will arrive almost exactly two weeks before the beginning of the actual tournament. The first real life match comes on 14 June, when hosts Russia will play Saudi Arabia in Moscow.

The update will arrive on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch on 29 May. An update will also come to FIFA Mobile on 6 June, EA Sports said, but it is not clear how that version will change.