Publisher EA reckons that its own internal stats suggest that FIFA 10 has now sold over 4.5m copies worldwide – a 26 per cent hike on the number of units shifted by FIFA 09 at the same stage in its lifecycle.

EA also claims that FIFA 10 currently stands as the best selling game in Europe in 2009 and also holds the world record for the fastest-selling sports game ever, with 1.7m copies sold in its first week in the territory.

FIFA 10 currently averages over 3m games online every day, with the last two months seeing a total of 113m online games played.

In addition, EA has officially announced a piece of upcoming DLC entitled Ultimate Team, an expansion to the similar game mode debuted in last year’s FIFA offering.

“FIFA 10 Ultimate Team adds a lot more authenticity to a unique  game that will update with new challenges and content over time,” producer Paul Hossack explained.

“We now have over 7,000 players from 27 leagues available, from which gamers will craft one or multiple squads to show their mastery of the revamped, more realistic chemistry system, and compete in tournaments with exciting requirements and rewards. On top of that, we'll release new tournaments and other updates regularly to keep the experience fresh and exciting.”

FIFA Ultimate Team will cost 400 Microsoft Points (Xbox 360) or £3.99 (PSN) and will be released in February.