EA has claimed that it has never used its FIFA Dynamic Difficulty patent in any of its FIFA titles. Despite the existence of the controversial Dynamic Difficulty gameplay system patent, it is claimed that it isn’t in use now in FIFA 19, or in any previous FIFA game, and presumably won’t be present in the upcoming FIFA 20. This means that those cries of FIFA scripting or scripted gameplay appear to be false.
FIFA developers took to the official FIFA Forums to make the announcement. EA community manager EA_Andy explained the situation after it had been revealed that EA had indeed filed for a couple of Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment patents, which you can read through here. The patents detail a Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment gameplay system that may allow the game to “perform automatic granular difficulty adjustment… in some embodiments, the difficulty adjustment is undetectable by a user.”
The patents detailed a system that would alter the effectiveness of the AI depending on how well you are performing. Perform too well for a period of time, and the system would theoretically turn the difficulty up and vice-versa. Players have been complaining about the supposed FIFA scripted gameplay for years, but EA has finally ensured fans that it isn’t using its Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment system in FIFA now, or in any previous entry.
EA_Andy explained that EA has “heard your concerns around the Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment patent family… and wanted to confirm it’s not used in EA SPORTS FIFA.” It is claimed that the developers “would never use it to advantage or disadvantage any group of players against another in any of [EAs] games.” Apparently, “the technology was designed to explore how we might help players that are having difficulty in a certain area of a game have an opportunity to advance.”
Corey Andress, EA SPORTS FIFA Global Franchise community lead, took to Twitter to explain further. He explained that “in short, none of this [Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment patents] is in [FIFA] now, or previously.” Andress added that the system was developed “to investigate how [EA] could potentially use it to help players, but it never got used.” It seems as though whenever you’re struggling in FIFA when you think you shouldn’t be, it’s because you’re just having a bad game.
