How does FUT Birthday work in FIFA 23? FUT Birthday upgrades explained

Happy birthday, FIFA Ultimate Team. FUT is celebrating its 14th birthday and if you’re already starting to feel old, we will cheer you up with the news that EA is dropping a lot of new content to make the celebrations as enjoyable as possible. We will join the festivities soon, but first, let us explain how FUT Birthday works in FIFA 23.

FIFA 23 is a somewhat experimental title for EA. The publisher has tried out a much more dynamic approach to content creation, with many FUT campaigns after the World Cup having some sort of dynamic content, be it the base cards themselves or a Token Swap system. FUT Birthday is no different. Here’s how all of it works.

How do FUT Birthday upgrades work in FIFA 23?

FUT Birthday players do not upgrade from their base values; the upgrades are contained within the cards at launch. Every FUT Birthday player receives a buff to either five-star skill moves or five-star weak foot. This is in addition to a boost to their OVR stats.

Related: How do FUT Ballers work in FIFA 23? FUT Ballers upgrades explained

What are FUT Birthday Icons in FIFA 23?

Another trend in FIFA 23 is a much bigger involvement of Icons during FUT campaigns. The FUT Birthday Icons aren’t much different from their colleagues who are still playing. Each FUT Birthday Icon is given the max stat in either skill moves or weak foot, next to a small boost in stats.

There is no rule that a player must not have a five-star rating in either skill moves or weak foot to be eligible for a FUT Birthday card, which means we already have four players with five stars in both following the release of FUT Birthday Team 1.

All FIFA 23 FUT Birthday players with five stars in skill moves and weak foot

• RW: Jairzinho – 93 OVR (Icon)
• CF: Eric Cantona – 94 OVR (Icon)
• CF: João Félix – 89 OVR (Chelsea)
• GK: Alban Lafont – 89 OVR (Nantes)

How do FUT Birthday Twin Upgrades work in FIFA 23?

FUT Birthday Twin Upgrades are two copies of the same player item, the only difference being that one will have five-star skill moves and one will have a five-star weak foot. These copies will be in packs at the same time and will replace any existing Base or In-Form versions of that player. You’ll be able to recognize a FUT Birthday Twin Upgrades item by a symbol displayed above their OVR rating.