FIFA 16

A Landmark for Representation

FIFA 16 broke new ground for the series by introducing 12 women's national teams, a first for the franchise. To ensure authentic player movements, developers used motion capture technology on stars like American forwards Alex Morgan and Sydney Leroux, midfielder Megan Rapinoe, and Australian defender Steph Catley. The announcement in May 2015 was met with widespread positive response, with the official trailer featuring players such as Morgan, Rapinoe, Abby Wambach, Hope Solo, and Spain's Verónica Boquete, who had previously petitioned for the inclusion via Change.org. Other featured players included England's Eniola Aluko and Steph Houghton, Germany's Célia Šašić, and Sweden's Kosovare Asllani.

The game also marked the first time cover athletes were chosen by popular vote in certain regions. Alongside the global cover star Lionel Messi, fans in Australia voted defender Steph Catley onto their cover, making her one of the first three women to appear on a FIFA game box. For the North American releases, EA selected Alex Morgan for the US cover and Christine Sinclair for the Canadian cover. This fan-vote system was a new initiative for the series.

Core Gameplay and Presentation

FIFA 16 offered a comprehensive football simulation with 78 stadiums, 50 of which were real-world venues. The game paid tribute to Simon Humber, the creative director of the FIFA series who died in 2015, by adding Fratton Park, home of his beloved Portsmouth. A new Training Mode within Career Mode allowed managers to develop players through skill games, a feature first seen in the 2014 World Cup game. Managers could set a specific focus attribute for a player, guiding their growth and increasing their transfer value.

Commentary was provided by the familiar duo of Martin Tyler and Alan Smith, with additional contributions from Alan McInally for in-game score updates, Geoff Shreeves for injury reports, and Mike West for classified results from major leagues. Spanish and French commentary tracks were also available. Notably, Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend did not provide commentary for international tournaments in this edition, though they returned in FIFA 17. The game also featured new goal celebrations, including Lionel Messi's '1, 2, 3 hat-trick' move, Tim Cahill's 'Timber', and Olivier Giroud's 'Glamour slide'.

Evolution of FIFA Ultimate Team

Substantial updates were made to the popular FIFA Ultimate Team mode. The entire interface was overhauled, with improvements to pack management, the transfer market, squad chemistry, consumables, and the process of swapping players. The major new feature was FUT Draft. In this mode, players build a squad by selecting one of five random players for each position before entering a tournament-style competition against other drafted teams.

For Xbox players, the pool of Legends cards was expanded to include historic names such as George Best, Ryan Giggs, Deco, Vítor Baía and Alessandro Nesta. Other enhancements to Ultimate Team included the ability to play friendly tournaments before a season starts, with rewards that boosted the transfer budget. These friendlies also allowed for unlimited substitutions. The mode also introduced more realistic features like two-year loans, improved player values, and transfer budget adjustments.

Platform-Specific Features and Content

Versions for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC received exclusive features not found on older consoles. These included a fully licensed presentation package for Germany's Bundesliga, new variations in weather and kick-off times, and the use of vanishing spray during certain matches. Downloadable content for these versions was managed using a point system.

The game was notable for its absences as well as its additions. Due to licensing issues, the full Brazilian league, the Brasileirão, was not included. Instead, a handful of Brazilian teams were placed in the 'Rest of the World' section. Furthermore, FIFA 16 was the first edition in the series since the year 2000 not to be released on any Nintendo platforms, with EA confirming no version for PlayStation Vita or Nintendo 3DS was in development.

Development, Release, and Post-Launch Events

FIFA 16 was announced on 28 May 2015 and released globally in September of that year. It featured the rosters for the newly expanded MLS clubs, New York City FC and Orlando City SC, in their proper league and conference classifications, an upgrade from their 'Rest of the World' status in FIFA 15. The official soundtrack was released on 10 September 2015 and was made available for streaming on Spotify.

The development process faced an unusual challenge when the NCAA warned that including 13 specific women's college players could jeopardize their eligibility for collegiate sports. EA complied and removed those players, stating they had licensed the likenesses through national governing bodies under standard protocol and that no individual student-athletes were to be compensated by EA Sports for their inclusion.

Post-release, the game was subject to further content changes. In February 2016, following lobbying by British child protection charities, EA worked to remove convicted child sex offender Adam Johnson from several game modes, citing technical issues that initially prevented his full removal. The online servers for FIFA 16, which supported all competitive and Ultimate Team modes, were ultimately shut down on 14 February 2023.

Critical Reception and Competitive Context

Reviewers widely praised the historic inclusion of women's football and the engaging new FUT Draft mode. ESPN's James Tyler highlighted the increased realism in defending and passing tactics, while suggesting a future mode where players could act as a team owner. The Guardian's Ben Wilson noted the different tactical approach required when playing as women's teams and found it difficult to choose a winner between FIFA 16 and that year's PES, awarding the game five stars.

However, the game faced stiff competition from Pro Evolution Soccer 2016. IGN praised the new additions but concluded that with its rival matching its dynamism and beating it for fluidity and responsiveness, EA Sports had work to do for FIFA to regain its title as king of the digital sport. Metro offered a similar critique, calling FIFA 16 one of the best and most immersive editions of the franchise but still lacking the perfect balance between authenticity and fun. GameSpot provided a more positive assessment, stating that while the game could be stubborn and stifling, it felt gloriously new and offered the pleasure of learning fresh strategies.