When EA Games released the first of the FIFA games in the 1990s, mainstream video gaming was still in its infancy. The technology required to make the graphics realistic was still in its infancy, and the idea of players joining together online was only just looking like it might be a reality.

Gaming has become such a popular pastime that almost half of the world’s population has played some form of video game in the last year. While there are plenty of professional gamers making a career of their skills, there are also hobby players who are content with learning how to play bingo on sites such as JackpotJoy and being in with a chance to win big that way.

FIFA ‘94 was released on a single platform, the Sega Mega Drive, and was timed to coincide with Christmas 1993. Even at the time, it was considered ground breaking because it offered an entirely new perspective on football gaming, giving players their first three-dimensional footballing experience as opposed to viewing from the top down, from the sidelines, or from above as previous footballing games had offered.

Today, the game seems rudimentary: there were no individual player names, just national teams of anonymous players, and there was a bug that allowed players to score reliably by bouncing the ball of the opposing goalkeeper and into the net. But the fact that this game broke boundaries sent it rocketing to the top of the UK gaming charts, beating classic favourite Street Fighter II into the top spot, and appearing on several all-time great charts since.

FIFA 2023

Today, the FIFA games are such an established franchise that there is no question about their domination when it comes to footballing games, even as the global gaming market has grown. The latest iteration is available across almost every platform, including:

• Nintendo Switch
• PlayStation 4
• PlayStation 5
• Windows
• Xbox One
• Xbox Series X/S

Today, the inclusion of the best-known international players makes the game even more relatable for football fans. The cover artwork, long considered the ultimate mark of a player’s achievements, features global superstar Kylian Mbappe, with Sam Kerr making an appearance on the ultimate edition as well.

It’s easy to see why it’s the best-selling sports video game franchise in the world – FIFA fans are almost as passionate about the video game as they are about their real-life teams. This enthusiasm has been matched by the efforts of the developers to make everything as realistic and immersive as possible,

Arsenal in FIFA 2023

As one of London’s most popular clubs, Arsenal FC’s place in the Premier League means that it has plenty of local fans in the capital, but also a following throughout the UK and among global football fans. Even before the game was officially released in September 2022, there was plenty of speculation among football fans as to how Arsenal would be represented in FIFA 2023.

The virtual game is so popular that the rankings of the players and the way the football club is portrayed on screen are hugely important to fans of both the real and virtual games.   With the power to upgrade players and increase their global rankings, announcements about the player ratings are hotly anticipated ahead of the game’s release.

This year was no exception and fans were delighted to learn that their favourite players had been recognised in digital form. The entire squad was updated for this year’s release and thirteen players were upgraded based on the 2021/22 season.

Thomas Partey became the most highly-rated player on the squad, with Bukayo Saka, Ben White, William Saliba, and Martin Odegaard also earning themselves an upgrade. Aaron Ramsdale’s latest incarnation showed the most impressive improvement as he jumped from seventy-four to eighty-two.

Fans of the team’s newer players were pleased to see that their efforts on the field had been recognised in the virtual world. Marcus Vinicius Oliveira Alencar, better known as Marquinhos may be new to the team but his ranking of seventy-three suggests that he will be a popular choice among FIFA players.

Other new players have also had a boost, including Fabio Viera who was upgraded to seventy-seven. Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney have also been upgraded following their exceptional defensive efforts during the previous season.

Some may not be happy with their new positions – Gabriel Jesus’s ranking stayed the same while Oleksandr Zinchenko was downgraded – but overall, the digital team reflect their real-life counterparts relatively accurately.

Of course, wherever there is a game of football, there is always a debate to be had over the merits of each player, and this is true in virtual football as well as in stadiums, stands, and bars the world over. Fans of both games have argued about the positions of the players relative to one another, and this lively debate will no doubt continue throughout the season as players lead their teams through digital tournaments all over the world.