Fans rage as EA Sports FC 24 touts new features in first video game since FIFA split

EA Sports has provided an inside look at its first soccer video game since it split from the FIFA brand, but many fans came away unenthused by the three features showcased in an EA Sports FC 24 gameplay clip released Tuesday.

The three new elements announced for EA Sports FC 24 are HyperMotionV, PlayStyles and an enhanced Frostbite engine — all meant to make the game more authentic. However, the publisher has not announced whether it will address longstanding connectivity issues, complaints about users feeling pressured to spend money in Ultimate Team and in-game bugs.

"Just want a game where the servers don't constantly crash or lag out, a realistic career mode where managers get sacked and moved around, realistic transfers, different players in UT promos, less promos and stop changing pack prices and the untradeable packs," wrote one viewer on YouTube. "The game has always had potential to be better but every time the constant changes in game during updates mess other things up. Eg bald Darwin Nunez for two months, Drogba came out as Maldini or whoever."

Added another: "I want gameplay that doesn't feel stale after a while and also more control over the tactics. Soccer has become so much more complex with different formations within a game I want to be able to do the same."

EA Sports explained HyperMotionV as "volumetric capture technology" that uses real-life cameras in stadiums to generate animations replicating moments from actual games. The company said this will affect shots, passes, tackles and more than 1,200 unique player running techniques.

The PlayStyles feature is similar to what users have seen before. There will be 34 new PlayStyles (and plus-versions of them) that are essentially the player traits that sports video games have used for more than 15 years. "EA never fails to disappoint while bringing us the same game with different features," wrote one fan.

Meanwhile, EA Sports touted a "revolutionized Frostbite engine" that will add a host of subtle animations and visual improvements. Frostbite was created in 2008 and has been updated periodically since then.

Interestingly, series marketing stalwarts such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar were replaced in the promotional video by younger players such as Erling Haaland and Vinicius Junior. "Feels weird not seeing players like Messi, Ronaldo or Neymar once," one fan commented. "Really feels like end of the previous era and start of a new one."

The most noticeable change, of course, will be the new name to the game, which stems from EA Sports rejecting FIFA's financial demands to renew a licensing contract. According to The New York Times, FIFA asked for double its $150 million licensing fee to allow EA Sports to continue using its name. Once EA Sports balked at that request, FIFA pledged to create a soccer video game of its own.

EA Sports FC 24 is scheduled for release on September 29, and more announcements about the game will come in the coming weeks through EA Sports' social media channels.