“There’s some trade-offs we need to make”: EA explains why ‘FIFA 21’ progress will not transfer to next-gen consoles

“The time required to make all modes transferable was better used to build new features and improvements across the entire game”

FIFA 21 executive producer Aaron McHardy has released a statement explaining why not all of the progress made on current-gen versions of the game will be transferred over to next-gen.

McHardy shared his statement with Eurogamer, following the global release of FIFA 21 today (October 9) on current-gen consoles. “When we start developing for a new generation of consoles, there’s ultimately some trade-offs we need to make,” he said.

“So we decided that the time required to make all modes transferable was better used to build new features and improvements across the entire game, along with addressing feedback from our players.”

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He also noted the since the Volta and FUT game modes run on servers, “it made sense for us to focus on them as a way for players to carry over their progression”.

FIFA 21
FIFA 21. Credit: EA Sports

McHardy’s statement follows EA’s announcement that only progress made on “FIFA 21 Ultimate Team (including players, items, coins, FIFA Points, match record, and leaderboard), as well as all progression in VOLTA FOOTBALL” will transfer between console generations.

Players will have to start from scratch for other game modes such as Co-Op Seasons, Online Season, Career Mode, and Pro Clubs when they switch from current- to next-gen consoles.

FIFA 21 joins a growing list of games that will not offer complete cross-gen file transfers. Other notable games that will not transfer saved data from current- to next-gen consoles include Dirt 5 and Marvel’s Spider-Man.

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FIFA 21 is currently available on PC, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. Players will be able to redeem free next-gen upgrades through EA’s Dual Entitlement scheme when the game is launched on next-gen consoles.

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