EA SPORTS finally address FIFA 21 “scripting and handicap” concerns

Bill Cooney

Usually unwilling to discuss the topic, EA SPORTS took the surprising step of addressing players’ worries about there being ‘scripting’, ‘handicap’, and ‘momentum’ in FIFA 21.

The idea of scripting and momentum in FIFA is something of an urban myth that’s been tossed around the community for years. The basic concept is that behind the scenes, the game tries to create more dramatic moments by helping out the losing team or making things harder for the team that has the lead.

Some think this rumor is just a coping mechanism for players to deal with those matches where the other team comes back and wins in the last moment, but a many seem to be convinced something is going on.

This was one of the things that EA SPORTS were asked about during their August 5 Q&A Twitter session, and they’ve come flat out and said that FIFA 21 won’t have mechanics like scripting, moment, and handicap because no FIFA game has ever had them, regardless of what the community thinks.

“We build a football simulation game by impending the different concepts of football. These concepts include an error system and a physics system which bring variety and authenticity to the game,” EA explained on Twitter. “When recreating the details of football, all real-life outcomes are possible.”

They went on to admit that along with this comes certain situations when the game can feel random and “outside of user control” but assured us that they were actively focusing on this in FIFA 21.

“From a gameplay design perspective, there is absolutely no need to implement systems to influence the outcome of the game artificially,” they said. “Since all the above mentioned already creates a football-like experience for our players.”

Of course, the news here isn’t that FIFA 21 won’t have scripting, because it’s not as if EA would ever admit if it does. However, the fact that they went as far as to address it, despite the years of shunning the subject and turning a deaf ear to complaints, can be seen as a positive step forward for the developers.

That said, it’s hard to imagine their comments convincing anyone, especially the longer, more veteran players who have had to deal with the franchise’s randomness for years.

FIFA 21, like every other game in the series, will have its fair share of randomness, and there will still be those who consider that a way to balance things out between players and teams.

In other news, EA also revealed the first proper gameplay trailer for FIFA 21 on August 5, giving us more of a look at what we can expect from the latest installment in the series.

As always, make sure to follow us on Twitter @UltimateTeamUK for all the latest news, updates, leaks, announcements, and more.

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About The Author

Bill is a former writer at Dexerto based in Iowa, who covered esports, gaming and online entertainment for more than two years. With the US team, Bill covered Overwatch, CSGO, Influencer culture, and everything in between.