FIFA 22 is on the horizon and will launch on 1st October 2021. The long-running series of football video games has been criticised in the past for its year-to-year similarities. But EA are looking to bring a new dimension to the series with the addition of ‘HyperMotion’. But what is HyperMotion Technology and is it worth getting excited about?
EA Sports announced HyperMotion late last week. They also shared a full breakdown of what we can expect. They promised that HyperMotion “brings the football’s most realistic and immersive gameplay experience to life”. Essentially, the new technology represents a supposedly significant upgrade of the game’s animation. It does this by leveraging AI and machine-learning. EA says this will “[unlock] the raw emotion, passion and physicality of the world’s game”.
What is HyperMotion Technology – Which consoles have HyperMotion?
HyperMotion Technology will be present in next-gen versions of FIFA 22 only – PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Google Stadia. The feature won’t be included in the PC version of the game. PC will receive the last-gen iteration instead, which is an odd choice. Especially when you consider the superior hardware present in modern gaming PCs compared to PS4 and Xbox One. As suggested PS4 and Xbox One will also miss out, as will the Nintendo Switch. Switch will get the latest FIFA 18 re-release, FIFA 22: Legacy Edition.
What is HyperMotion Technology – How does it work?
The technology is rooted in ‘Advanced 11v11 Match Capture’. What this means is that EA recorded and captured motion data of 22 footballers playing a real-life football match. In FIFA 22, this data is fed into an algorithm while you play. The algorithm then creates new animations in realtime based on 8.7 million frames of the advanced match capture. Of course, this sounds like quite the leap forward. But as with all FIFA instalments, it’s probably best to moderate your expectations until you get your hands on the actual game. Particularly when EA Sports say HyperMotion will [transform] how players move on and off the ball.” That’s a big statement to make – let’s see if they can deliver on it before making a judgement either way.
How Does FIFA 22 Next-Gen Upgrade Work?
If you want to play FIFA 22 on PS4 or Xbox One but are planning to make the jump to PS5 or Xbox Series X|S soon, you’ll need to purchase the digital-only ‘Ultimate Edition’, which weighs in at a whopping £89.99/$99.99. If you buy a standard version of the game on last-gen (£59.99), you’ll then have to fork out an additional £69.99 if you want the full experience on the newer machines. So, yeah – FIFA 22 could cost you around £130 depending on which route you take to next-gen. FIFA 21 provided a dual-entitlement program which gave players a free upgrade regardless of ‘edition’, so this will be a disappointing change for many. In FIFA 22, dual-entitlement is now ONLY available with the digital Ultimate Edition.
Do you think HyperMotion Technology will revolutionise FIFA? Let us know in the comment section below and don’t forget to check out our other gaming articles…
