FIFA 23 | Pitch Notes - Title Update #9

Title Update #9 (TU #9) is now available for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC versions of FIFA 23, and it includes updates to multiple areas of gameplay, including player movement, jockeyed interceptions, tackling, driven ground passes, and more. In this Pitch Notes article, we’ll be exploring these changes in more detail, their in-game impact, and our reasons for making them. This TU also adds the UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL), the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), and four new women’s clubs to FIFA 23, be sure to check out our previous Pitch Notes to learn more about these exciting additions.

You can also check out the full TU #9 notes on the EA SPORTS FIFA Tracker at any time.

Now let’s jump into TU #9 gameplay updates.

Explosive AcceleRATE Archetype

TU #9 introduces the following change for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC: 

• Players with the Explosive AcceleRATE archetype now accelerate slightly faster during the early stages of a requested sprint. 

One of our goals with AcceleRATE is to better capture the diversity we see in real world player movement, with the intent of increasing the viability of different player types in FIFA 23. To that end, we’re making Explosive type players a little quicker off the mark, when they’re requested to sprint.

Here’s an example of how an Explosive player could have sprinted before TU #9, compared to Lengthy and Controlled players.

Now let’s take a look at how an Explosive player can sprint after TU #9, again compared to Lengthy and Controlled players.

As you can see, the acceleration difference is subtle but noticeable, with the Explosive type of player being a little quicker initially than before. We wanted to be careful with this change in order to avoid making Explosive players unreasonably quick, and as with all gameplay updates, we look forward to seeing your feedback on it.

Jockeyed Interceptions

TU #9 introduces the following change:

• When intercepting the ball while jockeying, the player is now better able to take control of the ball instead of it bouncing away from the player.

With this change, we’re looking to ensure that players who excel at reading the game are better able to turn their understanding into action on the virtual pitch.

However, please note that this change doesn’t mean that every single jockeyed interception will be successful. Pass interceptions continue to rely on a variety of factors such as player Attributes, positioning, ball travel speed, and more. Here’s how an interception while jockeying could have looked like before TU #9:

Notice how the player wasn’t able to take control of the ball even though they did what they could to intercept. Now let’s take a look at how this interception could play out after TU #9:

In this example, we can see that the player is able to take control of the ball because they’ve done everything they could do, within reason, in order to intercept the pass and regain possession.

Driven Ground Pass Accuracy

TU #9 introduces the following change:

• Increased accuracy of Driven Ground Passes made to teammates ahead of the ball carrier, in situations where the passer is under no pressure from defenders.

While this change doesn’t fundamentally change how driven passing works in FIFA 23, we’re approaching it from the lens of enabling players to get up the pitch just a little quicker than before, if that’s how they want to build their attacks. Furthermore, this change looks to add a bit more authenticity to Driven Ground Passes, making them play out closer to their real world counterparts.

Here’s an example of a hundred potential ball trajectories before TU #9, following a Driven Ground Pass performed without being under pressure from defenders:

Now let’s take a look at that same pass but with the TU #9 change:

Notice how the grouping of the ball trajectories is a little tighter, increasing the consistency of this type of pass in order to give players more build up options. And just to reiterate, this change applies to Driven Ground Passes performed to teammates ahead of the baller carrier, and only when the ball carrier isn’t under any pressure from defenders. Driven passes performed in other situations are not affected by this change.

Standing Tackles, Pushing, and Pulling

TU #9 introduces the following change:

• Improved contextual logic when determining if a Stand Tackle request should lead to a defending player performing a Standing Tackle or a Push/Pull.

Depending on the situation, a defending player may want to physically battle for the ball within the confines of what the referee will allow, or that player might want to just go for a tackle immediately. With this change, we’re bringing more of a focus on Standing Tackles in scenarios where Pushing and Pulling isn’t best suited. The intent with this change is to enable players who are capable of winning the ball back to be able to further rely on Standing Tackles, while ensuring that physical battles can still play out where appropriate, such as during high speed chases.

To be clear, this change does not mean that Standing Tackles are replacing Pushing and Pulling in general, it means that the two mechanics should play out in a more authentic fashion than before, and we expect that players who can time their Standing Tackles well to benefit the most from this change.

Knuckleball Power Shots

TU #9 introduces the following change:

• Slightly increased the likelihood of a knuckleball shot occuring when requesting a Power Shot.

Both Power Shots and knuckleball shots in general can have a major impact on a match when performed successfully and at the right time. In order to maintain the viability of Power Shots as a strong tool in the attacking toolbox, we’ve tuned them to result in slightly more knuckleball shots, in situations where the shot taker is capable of pulling one off.

Here’s an example of what a well-executed knuckleball Power Shot can look like, along with potential shot trajectories:

Thanks everyone for checking out this deep dive into Title Update #9 gameplay updates. We hope you enjoy the changes and are looking forward to seeing your feedback on them, cheers.

- Goran Popovic, Keegan Sabatino, Derrick Freedman, Rory Hilson, Shaun Pejic, and the EA SPORTS FIFA Team

FIFA 23 is now available for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

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