The sports genre of gaming is fairly divisive today. Modern sports releases still perform well commercially, but critical opinions of sporting titles have been falling throughout the last decade. EA Sports and 2K have been scrutinized in particular for the genre's perceived drop in quality. Their FIFA, Madden, and NBA 2K series' lack of progression over the years has been partnered with a significant emphasis on microtransactions.
Although the perception of the sports genre has been harmed, there's no denying that the visual aspects of the games have continued to show improvements. Sports games have a claim among the most immersive genres in all of gaming today. Their meticulously crafted sound and visual design makes players feel like they're in the heart of the action.
10 MLB The Show 21
The latest entry in the MLB The Show series made shockwaves throughout the gaming industry prior to its April 2021 release. Not only was the once PlayStation exclusive coming to Xbox, but it was also launching on Game Pass day one. This initially caused confusion as the series is published by Sony Computer Entertainment. However, it was soon revealed that MLB were publishing the game on Xbox themselves, presumably as an attempt to grow the sport worldwide.
MLB The Show 21 doesn't disappoint its new and old audiences. The game attempts to make the most realistic baseball experience possible, despite it resulting in a tough difficulty curve.
9 Pro Evolution Soccer 2021
The Pro Evolution Soccer series was once seen as gaming's best iteration of the world's most popular sport. The franchise had a golden era in the mid-2000s. An incredible stretch of releases saw Konami's series become competitive with EA's FIFA commercially. Unfortunately, the series took a dip in quality through the 2010s, which allowed FIFA to dominate the scene.
Although the PES series still has its gameplay issues, its visual design and character models have been incredible in recent years. The lack of official licensing does hurt player immersion, but sweeping shots of meticulously designed stadiums make it hard not to be engrossed.
8 Madden NFL 21
As mentioned before, the Madden series is one of the first franchises that players point to when complaining about modern sports games' perceived decline. Gamers cite lack of progress between entries and emphasis on microtransactions.
Despite this, the series deserves praise for its continued improvements to the visual aspects of its games. This is exemplified by how Madden NFL 21 was frequently used by both Microsoft and Sony for promotional videos of their Xbox Series X and PS5 consoles.
7 FIFA 21
The FIFA series was a pioneer of microtransactions and their implementation into the gaming industry. This was thanks to its Ultimate Team mode, which first appeared in FIFA 09. Although some sections of the gaming community dislike Ultimate Team's implementation in FIFA, Madden, and other EA games, it's hard to deny its enormous worldwide popularity. Moreover, Electronic Arts would be crazy to ditch the mode from a business standpoint, as Ultimate Team earned EA an eye-watering $1.49 billion in 2020.
Much like Madden, FIFA 21 was frequently used for promotional videos of the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, thanks to its fantastic visuals and technical performance.
6 Dirt 5
The Dirt series could be the next sporting franchise to implement Ultimate Team, following Electronic Arts' recent acquisition of Codemasters. EA's acquisition makes the Dirt series' next few years very interesting. Electronic Arts' spending power could see a significant improvement to the next game's technical performance.
However, improving upon Dirt 5's technical and visual performance won't be easy. The game provides an incredibly immersive experience thanks to its gritty mud tracks, smooth frame rates, and fantastic yet terrifying sense of speed.
5 EA Sports UFC 4
MMA has skyrocketed in prominence over the last couple of decades, particularly thanks to the UFC. The UFC has given a continually growing platform to help its fighters become starts. This has subsequently helped sell tickets and increase pay-per-view buys thanks to box office draws like Conor McGregor, Anderson Silva, and Ronda Rousey over the years.
Unsurprisingly, Electronic Arts wanted a piece of the action, so purchased publishing rights for the UFC from THQ. EA Sports UFC 4 is the latest UFC release from EA. It offers the most intense, engrossing fighting experience yet.
4 MotoGP 21
MotoGP 21 released in April 2021 by Milestone S.r.l., the company behind the Ride series and upcoming Hot Wheels Unleashed. The game has many similarities to Codemasters' critically acclaimed F1 2020, with its emphasis on crisp visuals, a simulation driving experience, and in-depth career mode
MotoGP 21 was fairly well-received by fans and critics, exemplified by the PS5 iteration receiving a critic score of 77 and a user score of 7.9 on Metacritic.
3 The Golf Club 2019 Featuring PGA Tour
Golf games have a solid track record in the gaming industry, with many of the best sporting titles coming from the summer sport. Golf owes its continuous success in the gaming industry to numerous aspects. However, arguably its best feature is its suitability for both arcade and simulation gameplay styles. This is thanks to the more simplistic three-click or motion control systems used in Everybody's Golf and Wii Sport, while the more immersive analog stick method worked well for the critically acclaimed Tiger Woods series.
The Golf Club 2019 featuring PGA Tour heavily leans towards the simulation style of golf game. Its encapsulating true-to-life visuals partner with an in-depth control scheme. Players must take heavy consideration into their swing and course conditions.
2 Forza Horizon 4
The Forza series has been a staple of Microsoft's Xbox since the original Forza Motorsport was released in 2005 to critical acclaim. The first entry in the spin-off Forza Horizon series hit stores in 2012, The title offered players an open-world for the first time in the franchise.
Forza Horizon 4 builds upon the experience offered in the original Horizon game, with an incredible set of environments in Great Britain. Moreover, the game features changing seasons for the first time in the series. This ensures that each area never feels stale, and entices players to casually drive around the map and take in the stunning scenery.
1 F1 2020
Racing games have always been a leading force of immersion in the sports genre, and F1 2020 is arguably the most true-to-life sports game ever released. This title brings the action of Formula 1 to the comfort of the player's home with unbelievably realistic visuals, meticulous gameplay mechanics, and a comprehensive career mode.
F1 2020 was the most critically acclaimed sport's release of 2020, with a Metascore of 91 on Xbox One. The next game in the series, F1 2021, will release in July 2021. It'll be a tough task to improve upon its esteemed predecessor.