FIFA 15 brings football to life in stunning detail so fans can experience the emotion of the sport like never before. Witness the intensity of crowds chanting and cheering on match day, and listen to commentators guide fans through the story of the game with Dynamic Match Presentation. For the first time ever, all 22 players on the pitch are connected with Emotional Intelligence allowing players to react to opponents and teammates within the context, and relative to the narrative of the match.

With Emotional Intelligence, FIFA 15 models the emotional state of all 22 players on the pitch, giving fans a chance to experience first-hand the attitudes and personalities of the world’s best football players during a match. FIFA 15 players now have a range of emotions that evolve contextually throughout the game based on interactions with opponents and teammates. Each player has an attitude or feeling towards everyone else on the pitch and will react accordingly during the game’s events – frustration after missed passes, anger with hard tackles, and excitement when chances are taken are just some of the over 600 reaction animations that could tell the story of the game.  

In FIFA 15, Authentic Player Visuals come to life on a Living Pitch where everything is alive and the turf evolves at every step, plant, or slide. For the first time ever, the FIFA development team utilized physically based rendering to bring atmospheres and players to life, further blurring the line between the virtual and real world of football. The new rendering works in combination with a new player model and rigging system to make every athlete look and feel athletic, lean, and true to their natural form. FIFA 15 is played on a Living Pitch where boots and hard slide tackles will leave their mark as each match progresses; players will get mud and dirt on their kits. Other visual details including animated LED ad boards, corner flag and goal frame movement, and realistic atmosphere conditions will keep fans immersed in the game. 

US Men’s National Team Captain and Seattle Sounders FC star midfielder, Clint Dempsey, will appear on the North American cover of FIFA 15, sharing the honors with global football sensation Lionel Messi. The reveal was made at the start of today’s Sounders FC vs. Tottenham Hotspur friendly with a Tifo display unveiled across the Xbox Green Zone at CenturyLink Field. This will mark the first time that an American has appeared on the game’s cover since 2011.

Dempsey, who led the US Men’s National Team to a heroic performance in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, is considered one of the best American soccer players in history. He made and broke records during the tournament, netting the fifth fastest goal of all time with a strike in the first 29 seconds of the USA vs. Ghana opener, and became the first American to score goals in three consecutive World Cups. The 31-year-old forward spent seven seasons in the Barclays Premier League before returning to the United States to join the Seattle Sounders FC, cementing himself as one of the biggest stars in Major League Soccer.

“Clint Dempsey is a world class athlete that embodies the heart and soul of the sport,” said Stuart Lang, VP of North America Marketing, Electronic Arts. “He showed his lethal combination of grace and toughness at the World Cup, and plays with enormous heart and determination on the pitch. He is the perfect ambassador for FIFA 15, a game that’s all about bringing the emotion and intensity of the sport to life.”

“It’s an amazing opportunity in my career to be on the cover for FIFA 15, a game that has played a big role in growing the popularity of the sport in America,” said Dempsey. “To join the class of other elite athletes who have appeared on previous covers is very humbling and I am extremely grateful for this honor.”

Agility & Control builds on step-based locomotion and delivers an all new level of responsiveness and control to FIFA 15. Tuned player biomechanics cause players to react and move with balance and closer control when in possession of the ball. Precise steps and turns at low speed, and closer control at high speeds will give FIFA 15 fans more control and increased mobility when commanding players on the pitch. New stutters and strides let you cut, sprint, and explode out of turns, and run touch dribbling gives players’ personality that reflects their real self.  A new ball physics system models ball movement depending on the spin and the precise contact with the ball. The accurate movement of the ball, combined with the control of the player brings a new level of realism to dribbles, touches, passes, and deflections in FIFA 15.

Off the ball, Man to Man Battles transforms defending in FIFA 15. Players now use full-body defending to separate their man from the ball, while possession tackles will reward great defending, helping defenders keep the ball close to their feet when a challenge is made. New shoulder barges, shirt pulling, and big fall physics allow fans to feel the battle making dispossessing opponents more rewarding than ever.

Opponents and Teammates in FIFA 15 now make decisions just like real athletes. New to FIFA 15, players now have short, medium, and long term objectives that they decide upon as a team and execute using Team Tactics. If a team is up by a goal, they might park the bus, or if they are down a goal, they might try to get it in the mixer to be more direct in attack and secure a last gasp winner. This, along with other Team Tactics and mentality choices, creates emergent and realistic gameplay moments that become part of every game.