The “Momentum” has long been a topic in the FIFA series and has also returned to FIFA 21 . In a Q&A, EA Sports has now thoroughly addressed the allegation that a script or AI actively intervenes in the course of the game to make matches more exciting.
What is Momentum? “Momentum” is what FIFA players call the phenomenon where a game suddenly seems to turn drastically. One moment you are leading three to zero, but suddenly no pass connects. Shots on goal go wide, players make strange runs, and suddenly everything works for the opponent. Every FIFA player has likely experienced this feeling at least once.
Many players have suspected for years that there is a concept behind it – namely the “Momentum”, “DDA”, or also “Scripting”. In a Q&A, EA Sports has now commented on this.
EA says: “There would be no reason”
This is what EA says: Via Twitter, EA Sports responded to a player’s inquiry regarding the topic.
They emphasize that there is no concept like Momentum in FIFA 21 and explain this in a series of tweets. They have built a football simulation with the FIFA series, in which various elements of real football are included. This also involves a flaw and physics system that is meant to provide versatility and authenticity. When replicating the details of real football, all situations that exist in real life are possible.
Every year, they try to remove situations that feel random or uncontrollable from the game, making progress each year. Similar observations were made in FIFA 17. EA also commented on the topic in FIFA 19, when a patent for difficulty adjustment surfaced.
From a gameplay perspective, there is no reason to artificially influence the outcome of a game. The only game in which the AI of an opponent is adjusted is the very first boot-up game, which is designed to determine which difficulty level suits the player best.
This is what the community says: The initial reactions to the tweets are very skeptical. One user writes: “You can talk, but we play this game and we all feel it” (via Twitter).
Also on reddit, the topic is being discussed. One user writes: “DDA or not, the last-minute goals and those right after kick-off are a coding error. EA should fix that” (via reddit). Another comments: “Well, what should we expect them to say? ‘Yes’?” (via reddit).
The community seems to remain critical – however, players have also been dealing with the topic for years. Whether strange match outcomes will be noticeable in FIFA 21 will be seen by October at the latest. Here you can find all the information already known about FIFA 21.
