On top of regular footie matches, FIFA Online boasts a league that "enables fans to manage and compete as their favorite soccer club." Unusually for a football game but quite typically for a free-to-play game birthed in Asia, FIFA Online lets you upgrade your players with items which can be purchased with in-game currency or microtransactions.

This aspect is likely to be treated with suspicion by many in the wake of changes to item prices in EA's free-to-play Battlefield Heroes, which some claimed made it heavily favour those who bought items with real-world dosh rather than the in-game currency.

The English-language open beta will launch in Europe in June, spreading to other European languages then North America "over the next 12 to 24 months." A closed beta kicks off on February 3, at first featuring a 2010 World Cup tournament.