The time has come again. Four years after the crowning of Germany as world champions for the fourth time by beating Argentina thanks to Mario Gotze’s extra-time winner, 32 national teams will be battling it out again to emerge as the last team standing to lift the FIFA World Cup Trophy. This time, football’s greatest stage is set in Russia from June 14 to July 15. For avid football fans, there aren’t many things better and more thrilling than the FIFA World Cup finals.

Off the pitch, plenty of events and activities are already in full swing to enrich the fan experience. There are already an official anthem ("Live It Up" by Nicky Jam, Will Smith and Era Istrefi) and an official mascot (hello, Zabivaka). However, no FIFA World Cup experience is truly complete without its eponymous video game produced by EA Sports, as there’s nothing like taking a national team’s (virtual) destiny into your own hands.

Since the 1998 FIFA World Cup, EA Sports has churned out a special edition video game for every FIFA World Cup. However, this year, there isn’t one – one standalone video game, at least. Instead, EA Sports will be offering their FIFA World Cup content as a free in-game update for FIFA 18, fully utilising its superior Frostbite game engine, authentic gameplay and other game-changing features.

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Available since May 29, the expansion comes with authentic FIFA World Cup elements including Adidas Telstar 18 match ball, official team kits and official stadiums. Gameplay-wise, fans will be able to choose one of the 32 qualified nations and play through the real tournament structure, or use any licensed national teams in FIFA 18 for solo matches, versus mode, and custom tournaments.

Similarly, for the FIFA 18 Ultimate Team (FUT), the immensely popular mode in the game, it has received a FIFA World Cup makeover, packing features such as a revised chemistry system, FIFA World Cup Icons, and dynamic player items related to the real-world tournament to let you build your dream international squad. To top it off, there is a double pack incentive, in which for every Standard or Premium pack you purchase in FIFA World Cup Ultimate Team, you will receive equivalent pack value in FUT 18.

Speaking of FUT, you can bet all your FUT Coins that there will be footballers playing the game in Russia.

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According to Brazil's Lancenet.com, the likes of France and Portugal requested for video games as part of their rider demands during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. So, who knows, during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, you might just bump into one or two real-life footballers online and be able to challenge them to a match. And won’t that be the best FIFA World Cup gaming experience?

A free trial for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia game is available for everyone on PSN (PS4), Microsoft Store (Xbox One) and Origin (PC) from June 10 at 1am (Malaysia time) to June 16 at 2:59pm (Malaysia time). No FIFA 18 base game is needed to access the free trial.