FIFA 22 Update Makes Big Change to Defending

The two biggest talking points in FIFA 22 community is the passing and the defending. Today’s new update isn’t very large, but it does address both of these things. The update is currently only live on PC, and there’s no word of when it will come to other platforms, but it should hit console soon. In the meantime, PC users can test the new changes to intercepting, which should have an impact on both defending the use of the ground pass.

It’s unclear how big the file size of the update is, but we do have the patch notes, which reveal the following change: “increased the likelihood of a player retaining the ball after intercepting or blocking a Ground Pass.” The patch notes continue: “this change has no effect on how often Ground Passes are intercepted and blocked, it only impacts the outcome of interceptions and blocks.”

For now, it remains to be seen just how much this will impact the current meta, but EA thought it was substantial enough to ship an entire update for it. This is the entirety of the update. It does nothing else. As you may know, submitting updates actually costs money, so if EA was willing to do this for only one change, it must think this change is at least somewhat important.

FIFA 22 is available via the Google Stadia, Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X.

“The FIFA franchise moves fully into the realm of next-gen console gaming with FIFA 22,” reads the opening of our review of the game. “Yes, last year’s edition ended up getting a release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, but the game came out before the consoles and the only real difference was a slight upgrade in graphics and gameplay. FIFA 22 feels like it was made for next-gen consoles and it certainly shows. While there are still some small AI hiccups and frustrating microtransactions leftover from previous years, FIFA 22 is a smoother and better-looking experience than ever before, setting a new visual standard for sports games.”