Ranking the top 10 best ‘EA Sports FIFA’ games of all time

The famous football game series is coming to an end after a long period of time.

Electronic Arts, one of the biggest video game publishers, has brought football fans and gamers together through their FIFA line of games for decades. However, the long-running FIFA football games are coming to an end due to contractual differences between EA Sports and the governing body for football, FIFA.

It is true that EA Sports will continue to make football games in future but FIFA 23 is set to be the last FIFA-branded game that they make. From 2023 onwards, the video game publisher will make new football video games under the umbrella term EA Sports FC. On the other hand, FIFA is set to release their own line of video games which will lead to an interesting battle between the two.

As the FIFA line of games by EA come to an end, here is a nostalgic look back at the top 10 EA Sports FIFA games of all time.

FIFA 04 - Introduction of Career Mode

Gamers remember FIFA 04 very fondly. It was a genuine shift for the franchise with the introduction of the Career Mode which went on to become one of the most popular modes in the game. It gave the gamers control of their club of choice and its functioning, from making transfers to signing with sponsors and more.

FIFA 23 - Introduction of HyperMotion2 technology

FIFA 23, being the last offering by EA Sports in FIFA line of video games was a masterpiece in terms of graphics and realism. The HyperMotion2 technology gave the users an immersive experience and enhanced the experience through realistic physics and player behaviours in regard to shooting and more. 

FIFA 13 - Lionel Messi's first time on the Cover

FIFA 13 is remembered fondly as well particularly due to Lionel Messi’s inclusion as the cover star. The Argentinian was ripping football teams apart for FC Barcelona back then and made the cover, making millions of his fans happy around the world. Overall, FIFA 13 was smooth and did not have a lot of bugs.

FIFA 18 - Enhanced animations engine

FIFA 18 was a giant step towards what was to come from EA Sports for gamers and football fans. The enhanced animation engine gave the fans a look into realistic expressions, the faces of the players and their physiques. The Ultimate Team mode was superb and the gameplay was smooth and not clanky like other titles.

FIFA 10 - Introduction of 360-degree dribbling

FIFA 10 was transformative in the sense that it wanted to explore a new area unexplored by the previous titles. With the introduction of 360-degree dribbling, EA made a brilliant game that people still remember in a positive way. Thanks to the 360-degree control over the players and their shooting/passing, FIFA 10 brought about a revolutionary makeover in terms of gameplay.

FIFA 16 - Introduction of women's football

In a case of better late than never, FIFA 16 introduced women’s football for the first time ever and became historic for this reason. Shockingly, it took a huge number of fans demanding the publisher to include female footballers, for them to do so. The induction of women’s national teams (12 of them) made FIFA 16 one to remember. 

FIFA 14 - Introduction of the Ignite Engine

FIFA 14 was the last one to be released for the PS2. On the next-gen consoles and PC, it adopted the Ignite Engine which gave it more realism and better physics graphics. FIFA 14 was also popular for introducing the First Touch feature which gave the users even better control of their players in the game.

FIFA 08 - Introduction of Player Career Mode

While the Career Mode was introduced in FIFA 04, the Player Career Mode came into existence in FIFA 08. This mode gave the users the control of a player (existing or created) and experience his career from the beginning to the end. It was refreshing and became a mainstay for the series for years to come.

FIFA 19 - Introduction of the UEFA Champions League

A major area of content that FIFA game lacked was European competition due to licensing issues. However, FIFA 19 introduced the UEFA Champions League after striking a deal with UEFA which gave it the crucial edge over PES football games by Konami. This was reason enough for users to play FIFA 19 on a massive scale, making it immensely popular.

FIFA 17 - Introduction of The Journey mode, Frostbite Engine

FIFA 17 is widely considered the best-ever FIFA game by the gaming community. It introduced a story mode called The Journey where users got to play as a fictional footballer Alex Hunter. Another major step in the right direction by EA Sports was the adoption of the Frostbite engine. The difference in graphics, realism and physics was breathtaking and noteworthy.