Soccer is going to the streets in Volta, a new mode coming to FIFA 20. EA released a trailer this morning ahead of EA Play in Los Angeles, a fan event that replaces its traditional Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) press briefing.
In the trailer, we see people in plain clothes playing footy on concrete and smaller arenas. The idea behind Volta is to bring a more “street” take on the beautiful game. One of the things that makes soccer so attractive worldwide is that all you really need is a ball and people to play the game — a parking lot, an abandoned field, and even a tiny arena can be a soccer pitch when needed. And Volta captures this spirit.
It’ll have a story mode and a way to build a player character, as other EA Sports games have these days.
Producer Jeff Antwi said that it’ll capture the essence of street soccer — which often has no out-of-bounds — and that it will have cages in London, rooftops in Tokyo, and courts in Amsterdam. It’ll also have representation from pro clubs. He and former soccer pro Rio Ferdinand talked about the game in a recorded segment. You can play 3-on-3, 4-on-4, or 5-on-5 and with or without goalies. You can play as a man or a woman, with various outfits — jeans, shorts, long or short hair, tattoos, and more.
June 5th: The AI Audit in NYC
Join us next week in NYC to engage with top executive leaders, delving into strategies for auditing AI models to ensure fairness, optimal performance, and ethical compliance across diverse organizations. Secure your attendance for this exclusive invite-only event.
“For people around the world, streets are their stadium,” Antwi said.
FIFA is a cornerstone franchise for EA. It was in the top-10 best-selling games of 2018. In addition to strong annual sales — it drew 45 million unique players on PC, PlayStation 4, Switch, and Xbox One during fiscal year 2019 — the publisher also makes money off in-game transactions as players purchase loot boxes for Ultimate Team (think fantasy football, but for soccer, where you assemble a squad of players). In September, EA announced that it had sold 260 million copies of FIFA since the franchise’s launch in 1993, along with 193 million downloads for FIFA Mobile.
Updates with details from EA Play stream after 11 a.m.
