After finally being included in FIFA 20, all signs are pointing towards the Scottish Premiership making a return appearance in this year’s edition of EA Sports’ monster football franchise FIFA 21, alongside the usual suspects.
EA has confirmed that the latest edition in the franchise will feature over 30 international footie leagues and competitions, giving players access to 700 teams in total. The Champions League, Premier League, Europa League, and UEFA Super Cup are among the first to be officially confirmed by the brand, along with England’s Championship and League 1 and 2. The games company will likely confirm the other returning leagues in early September; and should the SPL make a second appearance in the franchise, players will be able to access the likes of Dundee, Aberdeen, Celtic, Motherwell, and Rangers.
Widely considered to be among the best videogames of all time, EA Sports FIFA has been in play since way back in 1993. Shockingly, it took till 2019 with the release of FIFA 20 before the franchise properly integrated the SPL into the game. But with Scottish fans being amongst the most dedicated in Europe, EA will be daft to exclude them moving forward.
What else is new?
We were able to get a glimpse of some of the other tricks that EA has up their sleeve for this year’s release following the stream of their sizzle reel earlier this summer. Here’s a summary of what we know so far. Although it’s not the full package just yet, these glimpses nevertheless prove that there’ll be plenty of entertainment to be had from the game once this year’s SPL streaming ends.
Player Humanisation – a brand new feature for swanky next-gen consoles, player humanisation will incorporate some elements of AI into the game to give player behaviours a more “authentic feel”, which will allow gamers to “feel all the emotion of football at the highest level”.
The realism doesn’t just stop at the players either, it even extends to the weather and what the brand has deemed its “deferred lighting system” in gaming stadiums.
Career Mode revamp – FIFA’s Career Mode is legendary among gaming fans, and EA is going all out to give it an overhaul for the 21 edition. With its new XP feature, gamers will have the opportunity to develop their chosen players, adapting them to new positions and game styles according to their own goals as “managers”.
Player “Sharpness” is a new attribute that will be added to player fitness, and gamers will be able to increase it by factoring in training days on non-match days, even choosing specific drills to improve various attributes (shooting, passing, dribbling, etc).
And as managers, gamers will have more control than ever over their squad. FIFA 21’s career mode will require gamers to map out their club’s weekly schedule to maximise player fitness, sharpness, and morale, factoring in recovery days, along with training and match days.
As for transfers, FIFA 21 will also come with a brand-new approach that reflects real life. Instead of choosing to purchase a new player immediately, gamers will be able to negotiate a loan-to-buy for their favourite prospects, giving the option to make the move more permanent later. In next-gen consoles, the game’s AI will even suggest more appropriate player swaps during transfer negotiations, meaning that gamers will need to choose and secure their talent wisely.
Has The Journey been scrapped?
Since FIFA 17, the game’s story mode, The Journey has been a firm favourite with fans. Enabling gamers to focus on a single player’s career, the feature was actually the first of its kind in the franchise when it first debuted in 2016. Unfortunately, however, it looks like The Journey has been scrapped for this and future releases.
Noticeably absent from EA Sports’ annual reveal schedule this year, Aaron McHardy, Executive Producer for FIFA, pretty much confirmed that the story mode would be getting the chop when he warned fans that it would only run as a “three-year trilogy”.
FIFA 21 Release Date and Cost
And now for the nitty-gritty.
FIFA 21 is scheduled for worldwide release on Friday 9th October, although it’s currently available to pre-order directly from EA. It will be available on PS4, Xbox One, PC, and the swanky new Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.
The standard edition will run for £59.99/$59.99, with the Champions Edition and Ultimate Edition coming in at £79.99/$79.99 and £89.99/$89.99 respectively.