MESSI AXED OUT OF FIFA COVER

EA Sports has announced that FIFA 17, the latest in the best-selling football game series, will release worldwide on 29 September. North America will get FIFA 17 two days earlier on 27 September.

A new FIFA is part of video games annual cycle, of course, but this year developer EA Vancouver are building the game on the newest generation of consoles with EA’s ‘Frostbite 3’ engine, the latest technology used to create games such as Battlefield, Star Wars: Battlefront and Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst. The FIFA games have used the Ignite engine since FIFA 14, so FIFA 17 has the potential to be the biggest change in the series for three years.

“Frostbite unlocks a whole new world of possibilities for the FIFA franchise and its fans,” said EA Vancouver’s VP and Executive Producer David Rutter,. “We have never been as excited as we are today about the future of football and the experiences we are going to deliver in FIFA 17.”

Harry Kane in motion-capture gear for FIFA 17

While EA are saving the full reveal for their EA Play conference at E3 2016 on 12 June, a teaser trailer was released showing FIFA 17’s ‘football ambassadors’: Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, Manchester United’s Anthony Martial. Real’s James Rodriguez and Dortmund’s Marco Reus. The players apparently helped influence the action on the pitch, while the trailer shows other players such as Harry Kane performing motion capture for the new game. They will also be the new cover stars for the game, seemingly putting an end to Lionel Messi’s usual spot on the front of the FIFA box.

FIFA 17 will release on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. The Xbox 360 and PS3 versions will not use the Frostbite engine, however, presumably remaining on the incumbent Ignite technology.