A pair of celebrations that contributed to “toxic behaviors” online will not return in FIFA 21 when the game launches on October 9, according to series publisher EA.
This news comes courtesy of Eurogamer, which reported earlier today that FIFA 21 will not include the post-goal “Shush” and “A-OK” celebrations from previous games. The former was frequently used by the online community to waste time following scores, while the latter bears some resemblance to a gesture popularized by white supremacists. A similar expression was removed from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Warzone last month.
“We were told by the community that there’s toxic behaviours in the game and we wanted to make sure we removed them,” lead gameplay producer Sam Rivera explained during a July preview event. “So we removed some of the celebrations that people thought were not the best idea to have in the game.”
FIFA 21 will also implement new time-saving measures to prevent players from screwing around in online matches, like limiting the amount of time during sequences like corner and penalty kicks. Certain cinematics, including scenes of teams walking back to their sides of the pitch following a goal, will also be shortened or removed altogether to make for a smoother online experience.