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EAsFIFA is today’s number one football simulation game. It all started in 1994 with the first game called FIFA International Soccer, facing competition from other football games such as Sensible Soccer, Kick-Off, and Match Day. The FIFA series is now one of the most successful franchises in gaming history, so to highlight the series’ success, we’ve listed the FIFA sales figures over the best-selling entries.
Updated on November 7, 2021, by Jack Pursey: When it comes to franchises with yearly releases, it can be hard to differentiate the games when looking back on them. Even diehard fans who have bought every FIFAentry since its FIFA 94inception would likely struggle to pinpoint key features and changes of past games.
The latest entry, FIFA 22, has recently hit stores. The game suffers from many of the common modern FIFA issues, such as the prioritizing of the microtransaction-heavy Ultimate Team mode, though the game has been praised for offering some of the best gameplay in the series, which may help it land on this list one day.
So, to help those who are wanting to reminisce, or are perhaps curious as to why the games listed below sold as well as they did, we’ve updated this list to include their release date to show the FIFA sales by year, each entry’s available platforms, and why each entry sold so well.
10 FIFA 10 - 10m+
Release Date : October 1, 2009 Available Platforms : Microsoft Windows, Wii, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS iOS, Android, Java ME Why It Sold So Well : Replaced the 8-direction control of players with 360-degree movement
FIFA 10 was the game that started the franchise in a new decade. It’s pretty similar to its predecessor in terms of graphics and gameplay. The new addition available in the game is a feature called “Total Football Experience” in which football news, like player transfers, fixtures, and results, from around the globe are visible. Additionally, features regarding the transfer system and the assistant manager were also improved.
FIFA 10 managed to sell 1.7 million copies in Europe in the first week of launch, which made it then, the fastest-selling sports game ever. Since then, the game has managed to sell just over 10 million copies.
9 FIFA 12 - 10m+
Release Date : September 27, 2011 Available Platforms : Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation Vita, iOS, Android, Java ME, Xperia Play Why It Sold So Well : Tactical Defending was introduced and made the gameplay far more balanced
The 19th installment in the series, FIFA 12, was published across all platforms, including, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Windows, and Mac OS, X as well handheld platforms PlayStation Portable, Nintendo 3DS, Xperia Play, Android, and iOS.
Like the previous entry, FIFA 12 has now sold just over 10 million copies.
8 FIFA 16 - 11m+
Release Date : September 22, 2015 Available Platforms : Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Android, iOS Why It Sold So Well : The introduction of female national teams
FIFA 16 is the first entry in the series to include female players. It is also the first entry since FIFA 2000 that wasn’t published on any of Nintendo’s consoles. The PlayStation Vita version also wasn’t developed. Aside from that FIFA 16 is a classic entry in the series, with slight improvements in the addition of new content, with new players and stadiums.
Lionel Messi is still on the games’ global cover art, while female players shine in North American versions. FIFA 16 received positive reviews and sold just over 8 million copies on PS4 and over 3 million copies on Xbox One.
7 FIFA 17 - 13m+
Release Date : September 27, 2016 Available Platforms : Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One Why It Sold So Well : Implemented the Frostbite engine, which has been used ever since
The first FIFA game to use the Frostbite engine, FIFA 17, also introduced a single-player story mode where the player assumes the role of a fictional player named Alex Hunter. Additional new features are new attacking techniques, physical player overhaul, active intelligence system, and set-piece rewrite.
Japanese top league is available for the first time as well as Norway’s women’s national football team. Marco Reus is on the cover art of the game after he won global voting, conducted by EA sports. The game sold just over 10 million copies on PS4 and over 3 million copies on Xbox One.
6 FIFA 14 - 14m+
Release Date : September 23, 2013 Available Platforms : Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, Wii, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Window Phone 8 Why It Sold So Well : It was the first game to release on eighth-generation consoles and introduced the Ignite Engine
FIFA 14 features 33 fully licensed leagues over 69 stadiums, with 600 clubs and more than 16 000 players, as well 47 national teams.
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The game received positive reviews across all platforms, with Xbox One and PlayStation 4 having slightly better reviews thanks to being developed on a new engine called Ignite Engine. FIFA 14 is also notable for featuring new signature goal celebrations from a number of players like Cristiano Ronaldo’s “Calm Down,” Lionel Messy’s “Point to the Sky” and Gareth Bale’s “11 of Hearts.”
FIFA 14 was the first entry in the eighth generation of home consoles, so its sales were split across multiple systems. The game sold just over 3 million copies on PS4, over 6 million copies on PS3, over 1 million copies on Xbox One, and over 4 million copies on Xbox 360.
5 FIFA 15 - 14m+
Release Date : September 23, 2014 Available Platforms : Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo 3DS, iOS, Android, Windows Phone Why It Sold So Well : It was the last FIFA title to release on the popular Nintendo Wii and handheld consoles
The sales cannot be attributed to the fact that FIFA 15 did something new, better, or innovative than the previous versions, but rather thanks to the fact that the next installments didn’t do that. Obviously, some people don’t think it’s worth buying a pretty similar game with minor improvements.
Regardless of the sales, is still a fun and enjoyable football simulation experience, with good graphics, massive content, and faithful representation of real-life football. Like FIFA 14, FIFA 15’s sales were split across console generations. The game sold over 6 million copies on PS4, over 4 million on PS3, over 2 million on Xbox 360, and over 2 million on Xbox One.
4 FIFA 13 - 14.5m+
Release Date : September 25, 2012 Available Platforms : Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Wii U, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo 3DS, iOS, Windows Phone 8, Java ME Why It Sold So Well : The new First Touch Control and Attacking Intelligence features made noticeable improvements to the series
FIFA 13 didn’t make anything revolutionary as an entry, but with slight but visible improvements managed to receive critical acclaim and high sales. One of them is the “First Touch Control” feature and for the first time on the cover art is Barcelona’s, Lionel Messi.
The game also made notable improvements to the Carrer Mode, including the addition of National Teams, letting players manage two teams at once. FIFA 13 has sold just over 14.5 million copies.
3 FIFA 11 - 16m+
Release Date : September 28, 2010 Available Platforms : OS X, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360, iOS, Android, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, Blackberry App World, Java ME Why It Sold So Well : Introduced Career Mode, which is still a popular game mode today
FIFA 11 is the 18th installment in the series made available for all major platforms at that time, including Nintendo DS. Sales of the game were better than that of the previous entry, so were the reviews, and FIFA 11 later received an award for Sports Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards.
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The game also has several new features like “Street Football,” “Manual Leaderboard,” “Goalkeeper Intelligence,” and “Career Mode,” among others. Thanks to more than positive reviews and several changes and improvements in gameplay, FIFA 11 managed to sell just over 16 million copies.
2 FIFA 19 - 20m+
Release Date : 28 September 2018 Available Platforms : Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch Why It Sold So Well : Featured the final entry in the Alex Hunter story, encouraging players to purchase and see how his journey ends
FIFA 19 is notable for capping off the FIFA series’ single-player story The Journey, with the third ad final entry in the Alex Hunter trilogy. The game is also notable for being the last FIFA title to appear on seventh-generation consoles, and for finally obtaining the rights for the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and UEFA Super Cup competition, which were previously owned by Konami for their PES series.
FIFA 19 has managed to sell just over 20 million copies.
1 FIFA 18 - 26.4m+
Release Date : September 29, 2017 Available Platforms : Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One Why It Sold So Well : Implemented significant improvement to the Ultimate Team mode such as ICONS, cementing the mode’s place as the FIFA series’ key focus
The 25th installment in the series didn’t offer anything innovative but followed the path set by its previous entry with story-based mode seen in the previous game, and this time called, The Journey: The Hunter Returns.
It also performed well critically with positive reviews winning an award for the Best Sports Game at Game Critic Awards and the award for the Best Sports Game of the Year at the 21st Annual D.I.C.E. Awards. FIFA 18 performed very well commercially, selling just over 26.4 million units.
The latest FIFA game, FIFA 22, is available now on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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