FIFA 23 will be released soon, with excitement growing around the upcoming title, which is set to be the latest collaboration between EA and FIFA.
The FIFA franchise has been doing well for 30 years now, facing competition from PES/eFootball and Football Manager, with ongoing GOALS and UFL also looking to disrupt its dominance in the future.
Recently, OLBG ranked every soccer video game from the past decade (including Rocket League), and it’s no surprise who came out on top!
Dominant decade
Taking into account various user and review reviews as well as the title’s sales, OLBG ranked each FIFA, Football Manager, PES/eFootball and Rocket League title to assess which was the best of the past decade.
Of all the titles, it was FIFA 21 that led the way, crushing the sales score of every other game on the list.
In fact, of the top 10 ratings, a FIFA title won nine, with Rocket League being the only game to keep it from being a clean sweep, coming in at ninth place.
Of the 30 games on the list, only the most recent version, FIFA 22, was outside the top 10 for EA – and even then it came in at 11th!
Suffice it to say, FIFA has been the king of football games for the past decade.
Critical Crew
Not only did FIFA titles outsell everyone else except Rocket League, but FIFA 14 also topped the highest average critic scores, tied with Rocket League at 86. 5%.
FM22 and FM19 came close with scores of 85.5%, with Konami’s highest title being PES 2016 at 85%.
Surprisingly, the chart-topping FIFA 21 received the lowest average critic score at 72.5%, but it was a hit with fans, which the sales clearly show.
In fact, FIFA 21 and FIFA 22 were both rated 4.6/5 by users (only bettered by FM22 with 4.7/5), but were rated lowest by critics, with FIFA 22 getting an average by 78%.
Lockdown love affair
The timing of FIFA 21 release turned out to be lucky as it coincided with the COVID pandemic lockdowns which is a very likely reason for its high sales.
Not only that, but with many people unable to work and in-person socializing restricted, many have found teaming up online to be a great way to pass the time and stay in touch with those closest to you.
Pro Club group sessions became a regular place where you could chat with your friends while laughing at the game, which could be one reason why users remember FIFA 21 so fondly.
