New ‘FIFA Mobile’ mode puts the focus on strategy, not action

Would you rather oversee your FIFA Mobile team than control your players’ every last step? You now have your chance. EA has introduced a Manager Mode to the Android and iOS title that has you focusing on strategy and tactics rather than action. You choose the starting lineup, set the tactics in real-time (such as attacking or countering) and let your team play. You can even queue multiple matches as you climb the division ranks.

The corresponding game update also improves goalkeepers, adds player switching options and offers kits for 30 national teams. The upgrade is available now.

This doesn’t turn FIFA Mobile into a management sim like Football Manager. You aren’t scouting talent, shaping training programs or wrestling with the team’s board. Think of this more as the soccer equivalent to an auto battler like Auto Chess or Teamfight Tactics — it’s a slightly more relaxed experience that does more to reward situational awareness than fast reflexes.

The NFL+ streaming service arrives today starting at $40 per year

After months of teasing, the NFL has launched its expected streaming service. The newly available NFL+ gives you access to live football streams and ad-free library content through the NFL App and the web starting at $40 per year or $5 per month. Spend $80 per year or $10 per month on NFL+ Premium and you’ll also get ad-free match replays (both full and condensed) across devices as well as Coaches Film features like All-22.

There are some significant catches, however. While you’ll have live audio for every game regardless of device, live video is only available for live local and “primetime” games on phones and tablets — you can’t use this to watch a playoff run through your computer or TV. Preseason games are limited to out-of-market showdowns (on all devices), although arguably a perk when you can often find local preseason games on TV for free.

The NFL+ debut puts an end to Game Pass in the US. Not that you’ll necessarily mind — even the Premium tier is less expensive than the outgoing $100 per year offering. While you won’t have as much freedom as you might like, the new offering might make more sense if you normally watch on mobile or just want to catch the occasional game while away.

LeBron James, Rick and Morty are coming to fighting game ‘MultiVersus’

Warner Bros. Games’ MultiVersus is a fun take on platform fighters like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Brawlhalla. It’s soon going into open beta with a roster packed with characters from across a wide range of WB franchises. Developer Player First Games is about to add one more to the mix: Space Jam: A New Legacy star LeBron James.

The NBA icon will join the lineup when the open beta starts on July 26th. Unsurprisingly, his offense centers around the use of a basketball. He can throw a ball at opponents or dribble one around his feet to damage enemies. James is also able to block projectiles by building a fence. Surprisingly (or not, depending on how much you appreciated his thespian skills in Space Jam), James isn’t voicing himself in the game. Actor John Bentley will play him.

WB also announced that a couple of other fan-favorite characters will join the lineup soon, as Rick and Morty are on the way. Many of Rick’s abilities are based around his portal gun. He’ll be available when season one starts on August 9th. Morty, who will arrive later in the season, can whip himself at opponents and use grenades. 

The trio will be added to an ever-expanding and fairly peculiar roster. Big names like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn and Bugs Bunny are all in the mix, as are Arya Stark from Game of Thrones and Shaggy and Velma from Scooby Doo. Tom and Jerry play as a single character, rather than trying to throttle one another.

The Iron Giant, the most recent addition, is portrayed as a gentle-hearted being in the film of the same name who only fights when it’s completely necessary. In MultiVersus, he’s beating up opponents like the rest of the cast, which the developers justified by saying the game takes place in an alternate universe.

If that’s not odd enough, leaks have suggested Ted Lasso, Gizmo from Gremlins (you know, the cute one) and the Wicked Witch from The Wizard of Oz are coming to the roster as well. For what it’s worth, those leaks are from the same person who revealed the game’s existence in the first place and who said LeBron, Rick and Morty were MultiVersus-bound too.

EA’s last FIFA game is finally making women’s soccer a priority

After revealing Chelsea star Sam Kerr on its cover earlier this week, EA has unveiled the first trailer for FIFA 23 showing that women’s soccer will finally be a key part of the game. It will include women’s club teams from the top leagues in England and France, along with both the women’s and men’s competitions in both the 2022 Qatar World Cup and 2023 Australia/New Zealand World Cup. 

International women’s teams have been available in EA FIFA games since 2016, but this will be the first edition with club teams. The women’s game has climbed in popularity thanks in part to the Olympics and other international competitions, and the 2022 World Cup will provide another huge boost. Two leagues is far short from the dozens available for men’s soccer, but it looks like EA plans to add more via future updates. “We’re committed to building an equitable experience and aspire to help grow women’s football,” said FIFA 23‘s Matt Lafreniere.

FIFA 23 also introduces cross-play functionality and more “realistic” gameplay via its latest evolution of HyperMotion2 technology, EA said. That feature applies machine learning to motion capture data to create smoother player movements during gameplay.

FIFA 23 will be EA’s last version of the game with the FIFA name, as it failed to come to terms with FIFA over financial and exclusivity issues. However, EA still holds licenses for more than 300 soccer partners and has exclusive agreements with the likes of the Premier League, MLS, La Liga, Bundesliga and Serie A. The series will be rebranded as EA Sports FC in its future versions.

‘FIFA 23’ has a female player on the Ultimate Edition cover for the first time

EA has announced the cover stars for FIFA 23 and, for the first time in the series, a female player will feature on the Ultimate Edition, which will be available internationally. Chelsea’s Sam Kerr is one of the two cover stars, along with Kylian Mbappé of Paris Saint-Germain. This will be the third straight year Mbappé has appeared on FIFA covers.

Kerr is a more than worthy player to showcase on the game’s cover. She has been shortlisted for the women’s Ballon D’Or every year since the award’s inception and finished in third place in last year’s voting. Among her many other honors, Kerr has helped Chelsea to win the Women’s Super League in each of the three seasons since she joined the club.

EA put women on the cover of its soccer games for the first time with FIFA 16. Steph Catley, Alex Morgan and Christine Sinclair featured on the Australian, US and Canadian covers, respectively. They appeared alongside Lionel Messi, who was the cover star on other editions.

Meanwhile, Eurogamer reports that the Women’s Super League, which is the highest-tier of pro women’s soccer in England, will make its debut in the FIFA series this year. Until now, FIFA fans have only been able to play as women in the Volta and Pro Clubs modes, as well as in international teams through the kick-off mode.

EA will reveal much more about FIFA 23 when the first trailer debuts at noon ET on Wednesday (you’ll be able to watch the video below once it’s live). This will be the last annual EA soccer game that bears FIFA branding in its title. The name of the series will become EA Sports FC next year following a messy divorce from FIFA.

ESPN+ is raising the price of a monthly plan by $3 to $10

Disney is set to increase the price of ESPN+ plans once again. As of August 23rd, a monthly subscription will go up by $3 to $10 (a jump of 43 percent), while the annual option will be $100, up from $70, as first reported by Variety.

That’s a significant price increase at a time when the prices of many goods and services are rising sharply. It’s a far bigger jump than the previous ESPN+ monthly plan increases of $1 in August 2020 and again last year. ESPN+ cost just $5 per month when it debuted in 2019 and, at least at the time, it was a killer deal.

“While it is a significant change to the price, it’s reflective of the increased scope, scale and value of ESPN+ as we continue to add significantly to both live sports and original programs and series, and it is part of an established plan to ensure ESPN+ is a profitable and strong long-term business,” an ESPN spokesperson told The Wrap. “I think you’ll also find, if you look across the sports streaming landscape, ESPN+ clearly remains the best value — in virtually all other sports streaming, you pay this price or more, and get less.” 

For what it’s worth, rival sports streaming services DAZN and Bally Sports+ each cost $20 per month. ESPN+ includes PGA Tour Live, which cost $10 per month when it was a standalone service, and NHL’s Center Ice, which previously cost $25 per month. The platform also offers games from several major soccerleagues (though it’s losing MLS to Apple next year), the NFL, college football and other sports. It’s also home to ESPN original shows and docuseries, as well as various specials. As Bloomberg notes, in the first quarter of 2022, ESPN programming and production costs increased by 48 percent to $454 million.

At least for now, Disney does not plan to increase the price of the Disney Bundle. Along with ESPN+, that provides access to Disney+ and the ad-supported version of Hulu. The bundle costs $14 per month. Subscribing to all three services individually would add up to a monthly bill of $25 after the ESPN+ increase. In addition, there aren’t plans to increase the price of UFC pay-per-view events on ESPN+ at the minute either.

A single-player Aliens game is in the works for PC, consoles and VR

Between Alien: Isolation, Aliens: Fireteam Elite and the upcoming Aliens: Dark Descent, fans of Aliens games already have a number of titles to enjoy or look forward to. Now, Survios is adding another one to the mix. 

The studio is working with 20th Century Games on an untitled Aliens game for PC, consoles and virtual reality. It will be a single-player, action-horror game. The developer will reveal more details at a San Diego Comic-Con panel on July 21st.

To date, Survios’ games have mostly been for VR, including a racing title called Sprint Vector and a licensed The Walking Dead offering. It has made one non-VR game so far, a boxing title based on the Rocky/Creed franchise. The studio’s Aliens game is likely some time away — Survios is still putting together a team to work on it. However, VR is typically a good fit for horror games. Alien: Isolation’s VR mode alone might be enough to convince you of that.

‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ returns for its third season on August 25th

If you’re missing your weekly dose of Star Trek since the first season of Strange New Worlds wrapped up, you won’t have to wait much longer for another fix. Animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks will return on August 25th.

The third season has 10 episodes, with a new one arriving every Thursday. Paramount+ is promising a “shocking resolution” for the cliffhanger that capped off season two last October. The crew of the USS Cerritos will be tested “in (hilarious) ways they could never imagine,” which may or may not have something to do with the consequences of stealing the ship.

The imminent return of Lower Decks should come as good news for its fans. Trekkers who prefer the live-action shows will need to remain patient, though, as the likes of Star Trek: Picard and Discovery aren’t expected to return until 2023.

‘Wordle’ players can soon sync their stats and streaks across devices

The New York Times has announced a handy feature for Wordle players who want to keep their streak going no matter the device they’re playing on. The publication, which bought the ultra-popular daily word game in January, said players will soon be able to sync their stats and streaks across devices. You’ll need a Times account to do so. Note that after you sync your stats, there’s no way to unlink them.

This is a welcome update. It’ll be handy for for those who play the game on their office computer during the week, for instance, or on both their phone and PC. Sure, in the grand scheme of things, Wordle stats don’t mean all that much. Still, if you’ve correctly guessed mystery words for many days in a row on your desktop system and you’re going out of town, you won’t need to break your streak.

It’s not clear exactly when the Times will roll out the sync option to everyone, as Polygon notes. Hopefully, the publication can avoid the kinds of issues it had when it moved Wordle over to its own website. Some players lost their streaks during the transition.