Fifa 18 announced with cover star Cristiano Ronaldo

EA Sports reveals this year's footballing extravaganza.

Fifa 18 has been officially announced by EA Sports for its usual September release date, and this year Real Madrid legend and four-time Champions League winner Cristiano Ronaldo will be this year's cover star.

EA's reveal trailer doesn't give much away ahead of its pre-E3 showcase this Saturday (10 June) but we can see that Ronaldo provided some motion-capture for the game's animations.

Fifa 18 will mark the first time Ronaldo, who won the Champions League in Cardiff this past Saturday (3 June), will have been on the cover of a Fifa game.

EA has set a release date of 29 September for the game on PS4, Xbox One and PC. Those who pre-order a 'Ronaldo Edition' of the game will get three days early access to the title, and the game will also be available a week earlier through EA and Origin Access.

The Ronaldo Edition includes multiple packs for Fifa Ultimate Team and the ability to have Ronaldo in your FUT team on a loan basis for five matches.

The other big news is that Fifa Ultimate Team's Legends (now called Icons) will be available on every platform, having been exclusive to Xbox in recent years. The feature introduces legendary, retired players to the immensely popular card-based mode.

The small print on materials for Fifa 18 (spotted by Twitter user VOOK64) reveals that this is the only version of the game that has been built in the Frostbite engine and will include single player story mode The Journey.

The implication is that the version of Fifa heading to Nintendo Switch will not include the popular mode introduced last year, and will be built on the older engine used primarily for PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Fifa in the past.

On Ronaldo's inclusion in the game, the man himself said in a statement: "It is a real pleasure to be on the cover of FIFA 18. It's a great feeling and I am grateful to have been chosen."

Senior producer Aaron McHardy meanwhile said: "The world's best player has helped fuel the biggest leap forward on the pitch that we've ever delivered.

"We are extremely excited to partner with Cristiano - working with him we learned a lot about his unique play style and what makes him so special. His passion, energy and global fanbase make him the perfect ambassador for FIFA 18."

More about the game will be revealed this Saturday, 10 June, at EA Play in Los Angeles.