EA confirms that FIFA 21 will not feature the controversial, real-life soccer feature, VAR or Video Assistant Referee. There will be several other major gameplay additions in FIFA 21, like Co-Op Objectives in FIFA Ultimate Team and new customization options.

Speaking to SPORTbible, FIFA 21's lead gameplay producer Sam Rivera confirmed that while he agrees that "if you look at realism, replicating real football, it should be there," VAR won't be in this year's game. Rivera said that the development team has "different priorities" and the team feels that "it doesn't add as much as other features maybe do." FIFA 21 is also a video game meaning that it can calculate fouls, penalties, and goals as soon as they happen, and so VAR would just be a cosmetic feature.

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Rivera also confirmed that FIFA 21 will not have empty stadiums, simulating the COVID-19 restrictions that have kept fans away from sports grounds for several months. The game was planned before COVID-19, said Rivera, but "if this rule continues it may be something we look to add in for the future." The crowds in EA's games are so good that FIFA crowd technology has been used in real-life soccer matches, so fans would likely be disappointed to see those crowds switched off in the new game.

The new information about the game was revealed along with a FIFA 21 gameplay trailer. While the trailer didn't offer a look at all of the features, like the new simulated matches teased and new features for FIFA Ultimate Team, new tackling and collision gameplay can be seen.

FIFA 21 will release on October 9th and is coming to PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

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Source: SPORTbible