FIFA 22 release date, gameplay, HyperMotion, and more

Every year as the current FIFA cycle begins to wind down, football fans flock to see what will change for the next instalment – FIFA 22 was no exception.

FIFA 22 continued to build on its four main game modes that made the series one of the best sports games out there: FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT), Volta, Career Mode, and Pro Clubs. Alongside that, FIFA 22 took advantage of the power of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. So, here’s everything you need to know about FIFA 22.

FIFA 22 release date

The FIFA 22 release date was Friday, October 1, 2021, on old-gen and new-gen Xbox and PlayStation consoles, PC, and (the now-deceased) Stadia.

However, those who bought the most expensive version of FIFA 22, the Ultimate Edition, got full access to the game four days earlier than everyone else on Monday, September 27, 2021.

EA Play members were also able to play a ten-hour early access trial of FIFA 22 on Wednesday, September 22, 2021.

FIFA 22 FUT Web App release date

The FIFA 22 Ultimate Team Web App release date was Wednesday, September 22, 2021, the same day as the start of the EA Play early access period.

FIFA 22 cross-play

FIFA 22 did not have cross-play. In a statement at the time, EA Sports clarified the situation:

“You will be able to match up with and against other players based on the version of FIFA 22 that you are playing.

“If you are playing the PlayStation 4 version of FIFA 22 you will be able to match up and play with and against other players who are playing on the same version of FIFA 22, regardless of whether they are playing on PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5.

“The same is true for the Xbox One version of FIFA 22, where you will be able to match up and play with and against other players who are playing the same version on Xbox One or Xbox Series X|S.

“If you are playing the PlayStation 5 version of FIFA 22, you will only be able to match up with and play against other players who are playing the PlayStation 5 version.”

This wasn’t all too surprising as FIFA 21, unfortunately, had no cross-play capabilities between platforms either – though it was undeniably a shame that FIFA 22 wasn’t the one to change that.

FIFA 22 cover

Kylian Mbappé returned as the cover star of FIFA 22. He featured on both editions of the game, but with slightly different artwork on each. You can see both here.

FIFA 22 Ambassadors

As well as cover star Mbappé, five other elite football stars were chosen as FIFA 22 Ambassadors:

• Heung-min Son (Spurs)
• Phil Foden (Manchester City)
• Christian Pulisic (Chelsea)
• David Alaba (Real Madrid)
• Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)

FIFA 22 gameplay

FIFA 22 gameplay evolved a fair bit compared to FIFA 21. The highlight of new gameplay features was HyperMotion, which was a series of improvements that only functioned on new-gen versions of the game.

Here were the most important gameplay changes in FIFA 22:

• Goalkeeper Rewrite: A brand new goalkeeper system brought a new level of intelligence to the last line of defence, unlocking more reliable shot-stopping and smarter decision-making between the posts. Goalkeeper positioning personality replicated the different styles of keepers throughout the game – to represent the lightning-fast reflexes of world-class shot-stoppers.
• True Ball Physics: Real-world data imported into FIFA 22 took the game’s ball physics to a new level of realism. Tuned parameters including speed, swerve, air drag, air resistance, ground friction, and rolling friction meant every touch, trap, shot, volley, pass, and dribble would look, move, and fly like the real thing.
• Explosive Sprint: A new gameplay mechanic that changed the dynamic of one-on-one situations, Explosive Sprint gave you more control over acceleration when dribbling or defending. You could lure opponents in and choose when to unleash your full speed to get away from the defender as you drive your team forward in attack.
• New Attacking Tactics: You could set up your team with different styles in each half of the pitch with new attacking tactics that gave you more control over how you played in FIFA 22: keep the ball in your half and explode into attack with fast build up in the opponent’s, play direct from box to box, or line up in your own unique style.
• Tactical A.I.: This new feature enhanced every player on the pitch making them smarter, thanks to machine learning. It made reactions quicker and decision-making smarter, with players better understanding their teammates and how to work together, as well as their opponents and their tactics. Tactical A.I. also gave players better personalities when compared to FIFA 21.
• Composed Ball Control: New Composed Ball Control animations were longer 2-touch animations that made controlling the ball more natural. This enabled players to trap the ball in specific circumstances with more fluidity and precision both in responsiveness and visuals, allowing for the better setup of subsequent plays.

You can see these changes in the FIFA 22 gameplay trailer below, which showcased the improvements.

FIFA 22 HyperMotion

HyperMotion was a new suite of gameplay improvements that came to FIFA 22, but only for those playing on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Google Stadia.

HyperMotion used the increased performance power of these systems to offer far more intricate, detailed, and realistic gameplay.

This included machine learning and motion capture of actual 11v11 football matches used to create hundreds of new animations, plus plenty of other features.

EA called this “the biggest animation refresh in FIFA history” at the time, with the data collected from this motion capture inspiring more than 4,000 new animations that covered set pieces, shooting, skill moves, passes, player movement, player reactions, celebrations, controlling the ball, two-player headers, falls, getups, dribbling, animation idles, shoulder challenges, seal outs, and more. 8.7 million frames of match data had also been captured to create smoother animations.

You can check out all of Hypermotion’s features here.

FIFA 22 Ultimate Team

Ultimate Team has become a cornerstone of the FIFA series since its release as DLC for FIFA 09, and FIFA 22 was no exception. FIFA 22 Ultimate Team delivered brand new Icons, all-new Hero players, more customisation, and loads of fresh challenges to get stuck into.

FIFA 22 career mode

FIFA 22 career mode introduced a new feature where you could create your own football club to take from “relegation candidates to global giants” in the Manager Mode.

FIFA 22 editions

These were the two FIFA 22 editions:

There was also a limited-time offer around launch with the Ultimate Edition where you could receive one untradeable FIFA 22 FUT Heroes player item.

So that’s all you need to know about FIFA 22. Although it’s no longer the latest and greatest in the series, FIFA 22 delivered some great improvements to the gameplay.