FIFA 21 confirmed for October, comes with improved "player humanization"

Electronic Arts confirmed the inevitable FIFA 21 at its EA Play showcase today. As with most EA games, it's coming to Steam, and has a release date of October 3.

The next instalment was unveiled via a trailer shared with the previously-announced Madden NFL 21. According to EA, this year's game will benefit from the impending release of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox One X. In particular, if you play using a DualSense controller, be prepared for some advanced haptic feedback. There's also a "new deferred lighting system," more detailed player models, and spatialized audio technology. 

For FIFA 21, EA will be making a virtue of "player humanization," which is a way of saying: expect players to behave more authentically—celebrating goals harder, raging against bad decisions harder, and presumably sliding into the DMs of models on Instagram harder.

Origin Access subscribers will get access to the game "days" before its release, and a 10 percent discount on the price if purchased on Origin. There's no mention yet as to whether EA will model the empty stadiums that are playing host to top flight games around Europe right now due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Shaun Prescott

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.