It has recently been announced that, after nearly 30 years, EA and FIFA are ending their partnership. The breakup had been rumored for months, but many people were still shocked when the news broke as the series has been one of the biggest names in gaming for numerous console generations.
Although EA's change to EA Sports FC will be jarring, many people have actually welcomed the news, as FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) has announced that FIFA series will continue, which should provide some much-needed competition to EA following the lackluster eFootball from Konami.
EA will presumably want to go out with a bang in FIFA 23 to not only give the partnership a worthy send-off but also to ensure its fan base that EA Sports FC will be the game to buy next year.
6 Performance-Based Progression In Career Mode
One of the reasons why some FIFA fans believe the series' career mode has become less engaging in recent years is due to the removal of performance-based rating progression. In past FIFA games, a player's rating would adjust based on their performances, so if a goalkeeper kept numerous clean sheets or a striker had a fantastic goalscoring season, their ratings would increase accordingly. In modern games, however, player progression is largely pre-determined. The players' performances now have very little impact on their ratings, and gamers just need to look online to see what their players' future ratings are.
This is disappointing for many people, as improving player ratings through performances is rewarding and lets gamers build a successful team around their favorite players, while the prospect of having players' ratings drop after spending too long on the bench meant that gamers had to think carefully about leaving unwanted players on the sidelines for too long. Considering that this feature was previously in the series, it presumably wouldn't be too tricky to get it back.
5 Playable Youth Teams
Following on from the previous point, bringing back performance-based ratings could create an interesting opportunity for youth teams. FIFA 22 currently keeps its youth development system very simple, as managers assign scouts to countries of their choice and sign players to their youth team, which is little more than a menu where managers just sit and wait to see if their talented youngsters reach a high level or not.
Instead, it would be great if the series introduced playable youth teams. Not only would this give gamers the chance to get a feel for their prospects and whether they would be a good fit tactically, but it would also let them work on improving certain player ratings if the aforementioned performance-based progression feature came into effect. Even if it doesn't, however, it would still be great to try youth players before signing them to the first team.
4 Improved Dialog Options
Many people believe that communication is now one of the most important factors of modern management. Motivating players to work hard for the team and work as a unit is harder than ever for managers at top teams, as aspects like the amount of money that players are earning through sponsorships, social media criticism, and prying agents can all impact a player's performances and make it hard for the manager to get through to them.
Consequently, communication with players is more important for managers than ever, as they need to ensure that their players have their heads in the game and are willing to work tirelessly. The Football Manager series has certainly taken note of this and expanded its communication options, as there are now even body language options available to managers to help them get their point across. It's unrealistic to expect FIFA to reach the player interaction levels of Football Manager by the series' next release, though it would be great if the game expanded on FIFA 22's limited and repetitive dialog options.
3 Expanded Transfer And Contract Negotiations
Another aspect of the sport that has become far more complex over the years is transfer and contract negotiations. The world's richest clubs are now paying over 100m for a single player and negotiating contracts worth over 300k per week, with numerous clauses, bonuses, and payment plans coming into play.
Therefore, it would be great if FIFA could expand upon the game's current system. EA has put in work to make the transfer and negotiation process look nice with players and managers meeting in offices and restaurants, though the nitty-gritty financial details are what most people really care about.
2 Smarter Defensive A.I.
Bad defensive A.I. has been an ever-present issue and source of frustration for FIFA players throughout the series' history. Although defensive A.I. has come on leaps and bounds over the last decade, full-backs will still make bizarre positional decisions, and center backs will still have the urge to track runners like they're glued to them, destroying any semblance of an offside trap.
Simply put, it can ruin someone's enjoyment when they spend hours crafting a team and its tactics, only for world-class A.I. defenders to make Sunday league decisions. Improvements to defensive A.I. in FIFA 23 could significantly improve the series' gameplay.
1 A Mode That Pays Homage To The FIFA-EA Partnership
As mentioned before, EA and FIFA are ending their partnership after nearly 30 years of success together. Although many people expect that the new EA Sports FC series will just pick up where the FIFA franchise left off, it's possible that EA will surprise everyone and shake up their tried and tested formula.
Regardless of EA's future plans, it would be nice if the American company added a mode that paid homage to the near-three decade partnership. There are many ways that EA could go with this, such as a documentary that takes fans behind the scenes or a mode that lets people play some of the old FIFA games. Either way, it would be a shame if EA didn't reference FIFA 23 being the last game that they develop in the series, as although the franchise has been divisive, it has been an important source of entertainment and a social hub for many people around the world.
FIFA 23 is currently being developed for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.