FIFA 21 Dual Entitlement: How the PS4 to PS5 next-gen upgrade works

FIFA 21 will support Dual Entitlement upgrades from PS4 to PS5.

With the upcoming launch of the PlayStation 5, there’s a lot of questions regarding games launching in that awkward window before next-gen arrives. Specifically, will games released in August, September and October be playable on next-gen consoles? Electronic Arts is actually making it easy with their Madden and FIFA sports titles through something called Dual Entitlement.

The Dual Entitlement program allows those who purchase FIFA 21 (or Madden 21) on PlayStation 4 to upgrade to the PlayStation 5 at no additional cost. Now there are a few wrinkles to make note of before you choose whether to buy the physical or digital version of the game, including knowing ahead of time whether you intend to buy the discless PlayStation 5 console.

For starters, to take advantage of the Dual Entitlement offer, you must upgrade before the launch of FIFA 22 next year, probably around October 2021.

If you purchase the digital version of FIFA 21, you’re pretty much set. Since FIFA 21 on PS5 will already be a digital version, all you’ll have to do is download it on the next-gen console when it launches later this year. It’s a simple upgrade.

Dual Entitlement also applies to the physical PS4 version of FIFA 21; however, you’ll need the disc to be inserted in your PlayStation 5 to be able to launch the game on those consoles. This means if you own the physical FIFA 21 version on PS4, you’ll probably want to buy a PS5 with a disc tray as physical discs can not currently be used to upgrade to discless consoles.

If you intend to buy a discless PS4, then you’ll want to buy the digital copy of FIFA 21 on PS4. Once you do that, you’ll be able to download the next-gen version from the PlayStation Store at no extra cost whenever it releases later this year.