EA has confirmed that the version of FIFA 22 for PC will not be next-gen, a move that, as you may have guessed, has generated a huge controversy, since it means that compatible users will have to “swallow”, yes or yes, the version of the game for the previous generation of consoles, with all that this implies both in terms of graphical and technological and playable limitations.
Indeed, the version of FIFA 22 coming to PC will be a simple adaptation of the PS4 and Xbox One versions. By contrast, the PS5 and Xbox Series S-Series X version will be next-gen, and the same will be true for that game if we run it on Stadia. Well, this means that FIFA 22 in its PC version will lack important graphical improvements, and such important technologies as HyperMotion, which, according to EA itself, allowed to improve motion capture and animations, making players look much more real in motion, both with and without the ball.
EA has also confirmed that if we buy the PS4 or Xbox One version of FIFA 22, we will not be able to upgrade for free to the next-gen version. This leaves us limited to two options, pay again for the game if we want to play it again on a next-gen console, or by the “Ultimate” edition of FIFA 22, which will be priced at €99.99, and will allow us to play on both the old and the new generation.
Why has EA limited EA FIFA 22 to the old gen version on PC?
For a very simple reason, sales. In the end, EA is a company that wants to sell, and the more the better, since not only their immediate income depends on it, obtained with the sale of the game, but also the subsequent income obtained through micropayments made by the users themselves.
It is very simple, if you launch FIFA 22 in its new generation version on PC, you have to increase the minimum and recommended requirements, and with this, you are leaving out a considerable amount of PC players who would not have the necessary hardware to move, optimally, a new generation FIFA 22. Yes, in the end, EA has preferred to release the old gen version to reach a larger number of users, that’s all. The minimum requirements for FIFA 22 are the same as the requirements for FIFA 20.
As we can see, EA accumulates an important set of bad decisions with FIFA 22, and if we look at the version for Nintendo Switch we find that the American giant has once again stuck its foot in its mouth. That version will be a legacy edition, which means it’s a version with updated kits, stadiums, and squads that won’t introduce any additional new features over FIFA 21. Yes, it’s tremendous that EA is going to sell this as a “new” game.
What can we say, we haven’t touched FIFA since we played the 1998 version on PC, and we don’t feel the slightest interest in playing the franchise again, so this move on EA’s part doesn’t hurt me directly. However, it seems to be a blatant lack of respect not only to PC gamers, but also to console gamers for the inability to upgrade for free to the next-gen version.
Before we finish, we take this opportunity to remind you that Battlefield 2042 will follow in the footsteps of FIFA 22, that is, it would not be possible to upgrade for free from the PS4 and Xbox One version to the PS5 and Xbox X-Series S version, unless we buy the “Ultimate” option, which will be priced around at $150, almost nothing. It is no coincidence, with this move EA manages to maximize the revenue it gets from two of its star franchises, but it seriously hurts the players.
