FIFA 22
FIFA 22 is a football simulation video game published by Electronic Arts. It is the 29th installment in the FIFA series, and was released worldwide on 1 October 2021 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Players who pre-ordered the ultimate edition, however, received four days of early access and were able to play the game from 27 September.
Kylian Mbappé is the cover athlete for the second consecutive year.
In response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, EA removed Russian national teams from all versions of its football video games, and made Russian and Belarusian players ineligible for FIFA 22, except for those playing in foreign leagues.
The online servers for the game for Stadia were shut down on 18 January 2023, whilst the online servers for all other platforms were shut down on 4 November 2024.
Features
HyperMotion Technology
FIFA 22 introduces "HyperMotion Technology", which uses motion capture data collected from 22 real-life players playing a complete, high-intensity football match in motion capture suits. The data collected from player movements, tackles, aerial duels and on-ball actions is used to power FIFA 22 gameplay. According to an EA Sports press release, FIFA 22 uses this data in its machine learning algorithm which uses over "8.7 million frames of advanced match capture" to generate life-like player movements and animations on and off the ball in real time. This "HyperMotion" feature is only available on the 9th Generation and Stadia versions of the game, and has given rise to the slogan "Powered By Football."Career mode
A single player "career mode" is featured in FIFA 22, where the user can play as a player or manager throughout a 15-year career. FIFA 22 introduces a create-a-club option in manager career, allowing players to design a new club with customized kits, crest, and home stadium. Career mode introduces a level feature where users can advance their player by collecting experience points that unlock player skills and "perks" to improve stats.Ultimate Team
FIFA 22 Ultimate Team is a game mode where users can create a team and play online or offline games to earn various cards like "FUT Heroes to add to their team. FIFA 22 Ultimate Team introduced "FUT Heroes" cards that represent different players with special ratings and attributes. The full heroes card list includes: Mario Gómez, Tim Cahill, Diego Milito, Jorge Campos, Fernando Morientes, Sami Al-Jaber, Robbie Keane, Abedi Pelé, Lars Ricken, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Antonio Di Natale, Iván Córdoba, Freddie Ljungberg, Jürgen Kohler, Jerzy Dudek, Aleksandr Mostovoi, Joe Cole and David Ginola.Card Kinds
- Bronze Common & Rare
- COMNEBOL Libertadores & Copa Sudamericana
- Silver Common & Rare
- Gold Common & Rare
- FUT Heroes
- Shapeshifters
- Team Of The Year
- Team Of The Season
- Adidas Numbers-Up
- Domestic Man Of The Match
- POTM
- Team Of The Week
- TOTS TOKEN
- SHAPESHIFTERS TOKEN
- SHAPESHIFTERS Heros
- FUT BIRTHDAY TOKEN
- FUT Birthday
- FUT Future Stars
- Rulebreakers
- FUT VS ICE
- FUT VS FIRE
- Road To The Finals
- Road To The Knockouts
- Team Of The Group Stage
- Flashback
- FUT Fantasy Upgrade
- FUT Fantasy
- Silver Stars
- FUT Captains
- FUT Captain Heroes
- Futties
- Summer Swaps Tokens
- Summer Swaps Tokens
- FGS Swaps
- Icons
- Prime Icon Moments
As in FIFA 21, notable former players are given "icon" cards, similar to "FUT Heroes". New players added for FIFA 22 include Iker Casillas, Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Cafu. Players have the option to preview Silver and Gold player packs as in the previous game, by allowing players to preview what they would receive from a pack before deciding whether to purchase it. "Icon" cards are classified as extremely rare, the probability of getting one from a player pack is below 1%.
VOLTA Football
New VOLTA mechanics in FIFA 22 will allow players to trigger special abilities during a match that would boost a player's avatar in a specific attribute. There will be three Signature Abilities available: Power Strike, Pure Pace and Aggressive Tackle. Players of FIFA 22 will also have the opportunity to play with up to three players in various online mini game modes, which will be part of the new VOLTA Arcade.Pro Clubs
Pro Clubs is a game mode where players are able to create their own virtual character, to take part in 11v11 online matches. Players can play with up to 10 other friends in an online match where each player controls their own virtual characters on the pitch. Players can also adjust the physical stature of their avatars, which has an effect on in-game abilities. A taller avatar, for example, would generally have a lower running speed than a shorter avatar. Pro Clubs avatars also improve over time as they play more games and perform well in matches. Players also have the ability to change a variety of features about their team, such as the team's crest, kits, and the stadium appearance.Player Traits
Traits are qualities a player possesses that affect their behaviors in-game. Each trait has a specific function that relies on how the player is controlled, either by the user or computer. Traits are divided into four different categories: Standard traits, CPU AI traits, Career Mode traits, and VOLTA Football traits. The Standard traits influence the user's and CPU's control over the player, these traits consist of different kinds of shots, throw-ins, passing skills, dribbling skills, and player health. CPU AI traits offer similar skills compared to the Standard traits however, only influence the player when the computer controls them. Career Mode and VOLTA Football traits only impact the player in their respective game modes.Licenses
The game features more than 30 officially licensed leagues, more than 700 clubs, and more than 17,000 players. For the first time, the Indian Super League and its eleven teams were added, as well as the UEFA Europa Conference League, the third tier of European club football established in 2021. New stadiums added in the game include the Estádio da Luz, home of S.L. Benfica, the Estádio do Dragão home of FC Porto, and the Nuevo Mirandilla, home of Cádiz CF. Additionally, in January 2022 via an update, the Brentford Community Stadium, home of Brentford, was added to the game, thus ensuring all 20 Premier League teams have their respective stadiums.Juventus, Roma, Atalanta and Lazio are not featured in FIFA 22 due to licensing issues, and are instead known as Piemonte Calcio, Roma FC, Bergamo Calcio and Latium respectively. The game retains the players' likenesses, but the official badge, kits and stadiums are replaced with custom designs and generic stadiums created by EA Sports. Bayern Munich and Barcelona are also featured in the game with licensed players and kits, but do not have their stadium licenses and thus play in generic stadiums.
Following a November 2020 announcement by Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds and American actor Rob McElhenney, through the RR McReynolds Company LLC, that they would be taking over the club, Wrexham A.F.C. were included as part of the "Rest of World" section, becoming the first non-league team to be featured in the series. Wrexham's last appearance in the FIFA series was in FIFA 08, when they were relegated from League 2 to the National League.
Removals
In February 2022, EA Sports announced that the teams from the Russian Premier League and the Russia national football team will be removed from FIFA 22, FIFA Online and FIFA Mobile amidst the country's invasion of Ukraine. The announcement comes following the FIFA and the UEFA bans on Russian teams from competitions of both FIFA and UEFA on March 1, 2022. This came just weeks after EA removed Mason Greenwood from the game in light of sexual abuse allegations against the Manchester United forward. In March 2022, EA suspended Diego Maradona from FIFA 22 following a legal dispute which claimed EA had negotiated with the wrong party and therefore did not have the rights to use his likeness.Japan's women national squad has also been removed.
Commentators
The English-language version of the game features two new commentators. Stewart Robson replaces Lee Dixon as co-commentator to Derek Rae, while Alex Scott replaces Alan McInally in the role of providing in-game score updates in Career Mode. Scott is a former Arsenal women's team player before retiring in 2018 when she became a pundit on Sky Sports and Match of the Day. Robson has made 150 appearances for Arsenal during his playing career before he retired to join Arsenal's media team and work as a commentator for various media outlets.Soundtrack
| Artist | Song |
| 84 Controller featuring Caitlyn Scarlett | "U & Me" |
| AC Slater, Darkzy and P Money | "Vibes on Tap" |
| Apollo BrownAitch featuring Avelino | "Party Round My Place" |
| AJ Tracey and Mabel | "West Ten" |
| Aluna | "Body Pump" |
| Amber Mark | "Mixer" |
| Ares Carter featuring Charlotte Haining | "Out of Lives" |
| Armand van Helden and Riva Starr featuring Sharlene Hector | "Step It Up" |
| Ashnikko featuring Kelis | "Deal with It" |
| EA featuring Hans Zimmer | "CL" |
| Badmómzjay | "Tu nicht so" |
| Big Zuu featuring D Double E | "Variation" |
| Bklava | "Thinkin' of You" |
| BLOODMOON | "Disarm" |
| Bluey | "Wine It" |
| Brockhampton featuring Danny Brown | "Buzzcut" |
| Abouzar Rouhi | "Salam farmandeh" |
| Madgal | "Chera" |
| Choomba featuring LP Giobbi and Blush'ko | "Say It" |
| Cobrah | "U Know Me" |
| Cole LC featuring Adz | "Westbrook" |
| Reza Pishro | "Asare Manfi" |
| Dan D'Lion | "Good Times to Come" |
| DJ Snake and Malaa | "Pondicherry" |
| DRS and Mozey | "Dance the Night Away" |
| Earthgang featuring Future | "Billi" |
| Firebeatz | "Let's Get Down" |
| Flohio | "Whiplash" |
| Headie One featuring Young T and Bugsey | "Princess Cuts" |
| Hermitude | "Hyperparadise" |
| Hybrid Minds featuring Grace Grundy | "Bad to Me" |
| JAE5 featuring Skepta and Rema | "Dimension" |
| Jay Prince | "In the Morning" |
| Jimothy Lacoste | "Describe a Vibe" |
| John Newman | "Love Me Again" |
| Kah-Lo | "Commandments" |
| Kent Jones featuring Rick Ross | "Bout That" |
| Keys N Krates | "Brazilian Love Song" |
| Kream | "Take Control" |
| Lice | "Ask Anyone" |
| Lorde featuring Run The Jewels | "Supercut" |
| LoveLeo featuring Rico Nasty | "Tung Tied" |
| Machinedrum featuring Dawn Richard | "Do It 4 U" |
| Major Lazer featuring Sia and Labrinth | "Titans" |
| Manga Saint Hilare and Lewi B | "Don't Just Sit There. Do Something" |
| MK XYZ | "Geaux" |
| Mr Jukes and Barney Artist featuring Kofi Stone | "Check the Pulse" |
| Neon Nights featuring Outlaw The Artist | "Shining" |
| Noisy | "24/7" |
| Nutty P and PAV4N | "Moves" |
| NVDES | "Out with a Bang" |
| Odeal | "More Life" |
| Orang Utan | "Who's Your Love?" |
| P Money and Silencer | "Doing Well" |
| PAV4N and Kromestar | "Stasis" |
| Rêve | "Ctrl+Alt+Delete" |
| RL Grime and Isoxo | "Stinger" |
| Saint Bodhi | "Blessed" |
| Seeyousoon | "Ben Affleck" |
| Shay D | "Talk of the Town" |
| Shygirl | "Siren" |
| Statik Selektah featurting Joey Bad4ss | "Watch Me" |
| Stylolive, Los Rakas and Happy Colors | "Uno 2 Tres" |
| Terrell Hines | "Otherside" |
| The Chemical Brothers | "The Darkness That You Fear" |
| The Dirty 33 and Bobbie Johnson | "Glowed Up" |
| Verb T and Illinformed | "Low Notes" |
| Xvoto | "Brainfreeze" |