EA Sports has outlined all the new features for FIFA 21 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S.
In a presentation attended by Eurogamer, representatives from EA Sports revealed a raft of new mechanics for FIFA 21 next-gen, which is a free update for existing owners of FIFA 21 or a standalone $70 purchase due out 4th December. These features are not coming to the PC version of the game (here’s EA’s explanation for why).
On the visuals side, FIFA 21 next-gen runs at up to 4K resolution and 60 frames per second, and has deferred rendering and runtime lighting, which improves the realism of textures, including players. Some top players have new strand-based hair tech. Eurogamer was shown Liverpool keeper Alison with this tech enabled, and as he moved you could see individual hairs bounce about. It was a bit exaggerated, in the way video game hair tech tends to be.
FIFA 21 next-gen also has muscle deformation. We were shown Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba’s leg in FIFA 21 current-gen versus FIFA 21 next-gen, and the difference in muscle definition was noticeable. It’s hard to notice this during normal gameplay, when the camera is pulled back, but players will definitely notice it during replays.
“We were not able to implement these features before,” FIFA producer Sam Rivera said. “This is something that the new consoles allow us to do because of the power of the cycles that they give us.”
FIFA 21 next-gen also has ball compression. This tech shows the football compress as it’s hit by the player, which adds a sense of weight to the ball, Rivera said.
“The ball is being contacted by the foot of the player, for longer,” he said. “It used to be just one frame. In one frame the ball starts moving in the direction of the shot. But now as you will see here, it shows the ball stays longer with the foot, which means you feel that sense of weight on the ball, which creates a more authentic experience.”