FIFA 21

FIFA 21 is a football simulation by EA Canada and EA Romania. Alongside classic matches with licensed clubs, it includes an extensive manager career, street football in VOLTA mode and the former online mode Ultimate Team. Clubs and squads reflect the 2020/21 football season.

FIFA 21 was officially released on Oct 9, 2020 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Steam shows Oct 8 for some regions. The standalone versions for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S were released on Dec 4, 2020.

The original main version was released for PC, PS4 and Xbox One. PS5 and Xbox Series X|S later received their own versions with technical improvements. The Nintendo Switch edition is called FIFA 21 Legacy Edition and carries over core game systems from older entries, rather than including all the new features of the other versions.

FIFA 21 adds Agile Dribbling, Creative Runs and Positioning Personality to the passing and dribbling system. These features affect how players move without the ball, use open space and prepare attacking situations. Alongside regular matches there are alternative house rules, such as matches without fouls.

Minimum requirements are Windows 10 64-bit, an Intel Core i3-6100 or AMD Athlon X4 880K, 8 GB RAM, a GeForce GTX 660 or Radeon HD 7850, and 50 GB of free storage. Recommended are an Intel Core i5-3550 or AMD FX 8150 and a GeForce GTX 670 or Radeon R9 270X.

In Career Mode you manage transfers, training, lineups and a club's youth academy. New was the interactive match simulation: you can follow a match from a tactical bird's-eye view and jump onto the pitch when needed. Individual development plans allow position changes and targeted development of individual players.

VOLTA moves football into smaller arenas and street pitches. Instead of 11 vs 11, compact teams play with their own avatars and custom outfits. VOLTA Squads allowed online matches together, which are no longer available after the official servers shut down.

FIFA Ultimate Team combined building your own squad with cards, competitions and time-limited tasks. FIFA 21 added a cooperative mode. The official online services for FIFA 21 ended on Nov 6, 2023. As a result, Ultimate Team and other server-based multiplayer features are no longer available.

The PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions received shorter loading times, more detailed stadiums, new player animations and adjusted lighting. PS5 added haptic feedback and adaptive triggers on the DualSense. The technically enhanced versions cannot be equated with simply playing the old console games via backward compatibility.

Buyers of an eligible PS4 or Xbox One version could switch to the respective new console generation via Dual Entitlement within the set period. The offer was tied to the launch of the consoles and the release period of FIFA 22, and is not a permanent current free offer.

FIFA 21 offers German on-screen text and German voice-over on PC. Other voiced language versions include English, French, Italian and several other languages. The selection may vary by platform and region.

FIFA 21 is no longer sold regularly on Steam. The official online services have been shut down since November 2023. Anyone who already owns the game can use remaining offline content, but on PC must observe the requirements for EA account and activation set out in the store terms.