EA sports released the teaser of FIFA 17 on Monday, with the most notable update coming in the form of the Frostbite engine and the graphical upgrade to follow. The teaser even takes the time to recall many of the past iterations of FIFA, showing how the series has evolved.
EA’s sports games are often the butt of stale jokes; that is, jokes about how slowly the games improve and progress. But for the next entry in the money-printing FIFA franchise, EA is moving everything to a brand new engine with some very impressive visuals.
In an effort to save money, streamline development and present a unified brand identity, EA has been moving all of their titles to the Frostbite engine. Frostbite specializes in rendering large environments and pretty graphics. It’s been used in many of the company’s biggest properties, including Battlefield and Star Wars: Battlefront.
This will be a pretty major shift for the development team however, who have been working with mostly the same tools since 2012 (the Ignite engine, starting production on FIFA 14.) The new engine has had issues with adaptability and the limitations of dedicated games consoles.
Given the company’s track record, some growing pains can be expected as FIFA’s Vancouver-based team gets used to the new engine. It’s a good long-term move for the franchise as esports gain in notoriety, but in the short term the product may suffer. Even the "old" engine wasn't entirely stable.
But that all may not matter, because look at those faces…
