Following the dissolution of the legendary EA Sports-FIFA partnership, both companies have revealed that future games will be released, with EA Sports adopting the title EA Sports FC and FIFA promising to continue to release games under its name. This ultimately means that the two companies will start competing in the soccer video game market, and while EA Sports revealed that many fan-favorite game modes will feature in EA Sports FC games, such as VOLTA and FUT, FIFA has remained silent about what its future games have in store for fans. For future FIFA titles to compete against EA Sports FC, and other upcoming games such as UFL, the series will need to go back to its roots and include game modes such as the popular FIFA Street.

FIFA Street was the first iteration of street soccer in a video game format that would ultimately turn into VOLTA. Unlike VOLTA, FIFA Street focused more on arcade elements, a step away from the simulation-minded FIFA titles at the time. This gave fans a chance to play as some of their favorite players in a 5-a-side format where fouls no longer existed, and the tricks were flashy. Bringing back FIFA Street would be the best way for future FIFA titles to compete with VOLTA and EA Sports FC, and it is something that many fans have been asking for.

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FIFA Street

FIFA Street Messi

The arcade-style gameplay of FIFA Street was perfect for the street soccer setting, as it gave players more of an opportunity to do things that were simply not possible or extremely difficult in the regular FIFA releases. For one, the tricks were much easier to perform in FIFA Street, and this allowed the games to be much more entertaining and took away the need of memorizing accurate right stick movements to perform the simplest tricks and moves. It allowed players to embrace the street soccer mentality, and the many unique game modes, including the Panna challenges, gave players a lot of ways to enjoy the arcade-style gameplay.

The move back to simulation-style gameplay for FIFA Street titles eventually led to the formation of VOLTA as it is today, but it never had the mass following and success of FIFA Street. While FIFA Street was released as a standalone game, adding it into future FIFA titles, similar to how VOLTA is a game mode on current FIFA titles, would add a lot more content for players and give many older fans a huge sense of nostalgia. The combination of legends, flashy tricks, and seemingly superhuman combinations made FIFA Street one of the best FIFA titles of all time.

VOLTA vs FIFA Street

A Volta stadium in FIFA

Adding FIFA Street to future FIFA titles would make it a direct competitor of VOLTA and would make perfect sense for FIFA. With EA Sports holding on to the many game modes it has created and popularized in past FIFA games, the soccer governing body will need to ensure that its fans are treated to some truly great game modes in upcoming titles. Career Mode and FUT will likely both find their way on either game and will probably not have a lot of differences, but the VOLTA and FIFA Street rivalry could shape the future of the soccer gaming world.

VOLTA is a game mode that focuses on giving players more realistic gameplay of street soccer and includes multiple match types, but many fans will play VOLTA just as they do in the regular game modes of FIFA titles. This is where FIFA Street stood apart, as giving fans a completely different experience and releasing the content as a standalone game paid off. Today, millions of fans are still waiting for a new FIFA Street title that embraces the arcade-style gameplay and gives players a chance to demolish teams with embarrassing tricks and ridiculous goals.

With future FIFA titles set to compete against EA Sports FC and its already established style of gameplay, FIFA Street could be the one game mode that elevates the soccer governing body’s game above that of EA Sports. A return of FIFA Street will not only mean that many fans finally get what they have been asking for, but would also show that FIFA is more concerned about bringing enjoyable content to its titles and not just flooding players with ultra-realism. The future of the soccer gaming world is unclear, but as both EA Sports and FIFA prepare to step into a new era, bringing back an old game like FIFA Street could convince many fans that FIFA is the right option - allowing it to outscore its old partner.

FIFA 23 is scheduled to release on September 30, 2022, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.

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