FIFA 22 will release on PC without any next-generation features which are being kept limited by publisher Electronic Arts (EA) to just the new consoles.
The new installment will hence be a previous-generation version on PC as well as on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The next-generation or current-generation version for that matter will grace PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, and also Google Stadia which will probably make a lot of fans disappointed.
FIFA 22 features something called HyperMotion gameplay which uses a machine learning algorithm to collect data from an ongoing match to in turn create new animations in real time. The responsive animations combined with other real-time changes will impact gameplay and allow players to experience increased realism.
“A cutting-edge proprietary machine learning algorithm learns from over 8.7 million frames of advanced match capture, then writes new animations in real time to create organic football realism across a variety of interactions on the pitch,” reads an official blurb.
The said HyperMotion feature will be one of many next-generation offerings and which will not be available for FIFA 22 on PC.
Treating PC as an afterthought should not be surprising. FIFA 21 similarly released on PC without any of its next-generation features which were there on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. EA explained at the time that the move was intentional in order to keep PC hardware specifications to a minimum. The publisher will possibly stick to the same decision this time around as well.
Hence, EA wants as many players to enjoy FIFA 22 as possible, and that means releasing the game as a previous-generation offering to facilitate PC players who are still running games on aging hardware.
The PC player-base has already taken to social media to make themselves heard. They firstly wonder if EA will ever consider treating PC the same as the new consoles. Secondly, why price FIFA 22 the same on previous-generation platforms? Surely scrapping features should result in a slashed retail price on PC.
While EA has refrained to make any statements, FIFA 22 will still be releasing on all supported platforms on October 1, 2021.
