FIFA 23: How EA Could Reinvent The Game

If you’re a FIFA player, chances are that you've been enjoying the franchise for quite some time. It's likely that you bought an earlier version a few years back, got hooked, and have been buying slightly upgraded versions of the same game for the many years since, fully aware of the money-grabbing cycle that EA has you in.

Obviously, to be aware of this loop and continue to take part means that the game must be pretty good, otherwise, you'd simply stop paying. Evidently, FIFA isn't a bad game – it's actually genius – but the real question is, could EA do more to better our experience as players?

FUT Phenomenon

Ever since its take-off in 2013, FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) has been EA’s number one priority, as reported on EA.com. It is just about everyone's favorite game mode, after all. However, this is but a fraction of what the game actually has to offer, amidst Seasons, Career Mode, Volta, and Pro Clubs of course – a friendship group’s favorite.

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Why is it then, that it is Ultimate Team only that seems to be the focal point for improvements each year? With its massive audience and the incorporation of FIFA points, EAs currency – which can be purchased with real money – is no doubt a breadwinner for the company.

This said, however, there is also a correlation between the amount of focus/funding put into this mode and its number of players. If EA were to focus on other game modes and actually engage with their consumer's wants and needs, their game would probably be more successful. Tuning into FIFA Discords, Reddit, and other online communities like Win.gg would serve as a good feedback source for the game developers at EA. The passionate gamers that literally live to consume games are hyper-critical and can provide invaluable constructive criticism. This is best heeded by developers if they're wanting to evolve their products and really achieve an impact when games are released.

Take Pro Clubs, for example. This is a hilariously opportunistic mode where friends can take control of a single player, link up with each other and play as part of a single team against other groups of friends doing the same thing. If you haven’t hopped on Pro Clubs before – it’s a great laugh!

You can’t help but feel, though, that EA could develop this model further by incorporating FUT-style interfaces and dynamics. Certainly, the game mode would be much more enjoyable. If each player could have a FUT-like player card, applicable chemistry styles, and other fun features, which are exclusive to Ultimate Team, the gameplay would be much more fun.

This said, EA would have to seriously drop the ball (pun intended) to fall behind PES and the team at Konami.com.

Source: Unsplash

After introducing Volta football – a game mode not dissimilar to the old FIFA Street games – it seemed EA was transforming the game as we knew it. However, while this game mode is fun to have a mess around on, the lack of avenues to explore and fun to be had means that the novelty of it wears off pretty quickly. A serious effort to develop this mode in its interactivity, deepening of detail, and collaborative opportunities could really help to sell this game mode to players.

Considering this, then, it's not unfair to say that EA could be doing more with FIFA. However, to see how far the game has come in terms of its engines, graphics, and realistic replication of actual football is truly amazing and a testament to the technology behind it.