Fans have hoped that the launch would go smoothly for FIFA 23, but it has been the opposite. The release of the game was met with issues as many players were unable to access FIFA 23 due to the game’s anti-cheat system. Some users paid extra to play the game 72 hours before everyone else but were not able to take advantage of early access. Another source of frustration for the game is related to microtransactions. Gamers expressed their frustration about the “pay-to-win” mechanics of the game. Players who are not willing or unable to spend on loot boxes feel disadvantaged in certain game modes. Other players feel that FIFA 23 did not improve on the previous game. Fans have felt that the game was just a repaint of FIFA 22 and did not introduce anything new to the franchise.
Review bombing
The frustration from fans resulted in the game being review bombed on several platforms. Metacritic has a 7.7 critic score, giving it favorable reviews. However, the fan rating for FIFA 23 was just 2.4, due to the overall dissatisfaction that players have with the game. Over on Steam, players have also given the game negative reviews. FIFA 23 currently has a rating of “Mostly Negative” on the platform. There were numerous complaints about being unable to play the game during the early access period. Fans are not the only ones who are unhappy with the game. Nintendo Life gave FIFA 23 a 2/10 review and stated not to waste money on the handheld console version. The main complaint about the Switch version is that many of the game modes are not present in the handheld version.
Anti-Cheat Issues
EA developed a new kernel-level anti-cheat system for PC as FIFA 23 has crossplay enabled on all platforms. The developers announced that this new system was needed to ensure that players across all platforms were on a level playing field. This system has, however, backfired as there have been numerous reports of issues with the system. Some players who purchased the game from Steam or Origin have encountered issues that prevent them from launching the game. One suggestion on how to fix the game is to delete the installer for the anti-cheat system once the game loads, in order to force a reinstall. Others have suggested completely reinstalling the game from scratch. Review bombing has been seemingly been a normal occurrence in 2022. AAA games like Horizon Forbidden West and Elden Ring have also gotten their share of bad reviews. However, there are valid points that need to be addressed. For FIFA 23, the anti-cheat system needs to be updated and EA has to also do something about the microtransactions. FIFA 23 is now available on the PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.
