The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions of FIFA 21 are going to benefit from a variety of next-gen effects and features, such as ball deformation, muscle definition, and new camera angles. Unfortunately, the PC version is getting none of that.
In a statement to Eurogamer, executive producer Aaron McHardy explained that EA decided to keep FIFA 21’s PC version last-gen so it could “open the doors and be inclusive to everybody who wants to play FIFA.”
“When we looked at what generation to put the PC game on, we looked at our fans and what capabilities they had with the hardware they have,” McHardy said.
“And we have that information to understand what the power of the PCs out there in the world are. And when we looked at that, in order to run the gen five game, our min spec would have been at a spot that would have left a lot of people out in the cold not being able to play the game.”
“So we made the choice to keep the PC version of the game on the gen four version of FIFA so that we can open the doors and be inclusive to everybody who wants to play FIFA.”
EA’s excuse seems suspect. What’s stopping the developer from including next-gen features that can be switched on or off depending on hardware limitations and/or user preference?
In any case, here are FIFA 21’s minimum PC specs for reference:
- OS: 64-bit Windows 10
- Processor (AMD): Athlon X4 880K @4GHz or Equivalent
- Processor (Intel): Core i3-6100 @3.7GHz or Equivalent
- Memory: 8 GB
- Graphics card (AMD): Radeon HD 7850 or Equivalent
- Graphics card (NVIDIA): GeForce GTX 660 or Equivalent
- Online Connection Requirements: 512 KBPS or faster Internet connection
- Hard-drive space: 50 GB
FIFA 21 will be released for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on December 4. Next-gen upgrades are free for anyone who already owns the PS4 and Xbox One versions.