The highly anticipated FIFA 23 will be released next September 30 (September 27 for pre-orders of the Ultimate edition) and virtual football players around the world are kept in suspense by trailers showing the new features coming to the next installment.
The emphasis is placed on realism, both graphic and movement, and thus, each player is modeled by a team of professionals from EA Vancouver. Every year, EA’s teams don’t disappoint, except maybe this year. Indeed, some noticed that the appearance of two players in particular was “outdated”…
Benzema and Messi not on top
It was following the broadcast of the various trailers and gameplay extracts of FIFA 23 that some fans of the license noticed… few changes in modeling of Benzema as well as Messi. For good reason, the two famous players seem to have kept their appearance for several years, so several opuses.
In order to model the players in FIFA, EA uses unique motion capture and face-scanning technology to reproduce the players as closely as possible. The company uses a team of specialists who travel the world and photograph the best football players in a studio. Subsequently, professional players appear in game, more realistic than ever. However, some are not modeled every year and thus, the virtual reproduction may seem old because like all human beings, professional football players change.
Benzema and Messi therefore don’t appear to have had their portraits redone for some time, and a Reddit thread has been started in order to guess the exact cause. The post, called “Why Benzema has the same look since Fifa 17 (and Messi hasn’t had a beard for over two years) but EA can’t update them?”all the rage and the entire FIFA community has gathered around this mystery, the reasons for which can be more than multiple.
Why ?
Disclaimer: This chapter covers fan theories, nothing is formalized by EA.
As said before, the reasons are various, but the community has its own idea. As for Messi, one user pointed out that the Argentinian player is in contract with PES, one of FIFA’s main competitors. It is therefore possible that as an ambassador of the license, he does not actually work with FIFA.
Another user mentioned a potential scheduling problemlogical with the preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
However, Benzema and Messi are not the only ones concerned, the modeling of the legend of football Ronaldo reportedly not updated since 2016. Many players find it unfortunate that his gait and his physical aspects are “dated”.
The EA teams have therefore not updated the modeling of these players for FIFA 23, and may make all the necessary adjustments for the next game. Waiting, FIFA 23 players will still enjoy their favorite pro players on September 30!
EA Sports presents in a new video everything that will happen to one of the flagship features of FIFA 23, which will notably have a much more intuitive menu.