FIFA 17 To Have Corruption Mode?

EA Games executive producer David Rutter has torched another storm after hinting that FIFA 17 might have a ‘Corruption Mode.’ Speaking at a press conference ahead of the release of FIFA 16, Rutter stressed the fact that FIFA strives to be ‘as realistic as possible,’ and that corruption ‘is clearly a part of FIFA.’ He was speaking in the wake of the indictment of high level FIFA officials by the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigations on allegations of massive fraud dating back more than a decade.

Quizzed over whether his statements meant that the next FIFA installment after FIFA 16 could have a corruption mode, Rutter was not too clear, but he left a hint. “I mean, I don’t see FIFA not having some element of corruption in its future installments, in keeping with reality,” he said. “As to when that will happen, I am not sure. It could be [FIFA] 17, or it could be [FIFA] 20” he added.

Some FIFA fans welcomed the idea. Some long-time gamers even felt that FIFA should have introduced this Corruption Mode before their controversial introduction of women’s teams in FIFA 16. “Think about it, Barcelona evades taxes in its transfers, countries issue bribes to host the world cup and players lose games for bets,” acclaimed FIFA gamer Thabo Modise says. “We need those realities in the game – before they even think about adding female players!” he added.

It is unclear how far EA Games wants to take its ‘realistic’ philosophy, as there have been growing calls to introduce racial abuse in FIFA 17’s Serie A matches.