FIFA franchise DOMINATES best rated football games of the last decade

FIFA 23 will be released soon, with excitement growing around the upcoming title, which is set to be the last collaboration between EA and FIFA.

The FIFA franchise has been going strong for 30 years now, facing down competition from PES/eFootball and Football Manager, with works-in-progress GOALS and UFL also seeking to disrupt its dominance in the future.

Recently, OLBG ranked every football video game of the last decade (including Rocket League), and its no surprise which came out on top!

Dominant Decade

Taking into account various user and critical reviews and also sales of the title, OLBG ranked every FIFA, Football Manager, PES/eFootball title and Rocket League to assess which has been the best of the last decade.

Of all the titles, it was FIFA 21 that led the way, crushing the sales score of all other games on the list.

In fact, of the top 10 ratings, a FIFA title took nine of them, with Rocket League the only game stopping it from being a clean sweep, coming in at ninth.

Of the 30 games on the list, only the most recent release, FIFA 22, was outside the top 10 for EA - and even then it came 11th!

Suffice to say, FIFA has been king of the football games in the last decade.

Critical Crew

Not only did FIFA titles outsell all others apart from Rocket League, FIFA 14 also came out joint top of the best average critic scores, tying with Rocket League with a score of 86.5%.

FM22 and FM19 came close with scores of 85.5%, with the highest of Konami's titles being PES 2016, with 85%.

Surprisingly, the chart-topping FIFA 21 received the lowest average critic score, with 72.5%, but it was a hit with fans which the sales clearly show.

In fact, FIFA 21 and FIFA 22 were both rated 4.6/5 by users (only bettered by FM22 with 4.7/5), yet were the lowest rated for critics, with FIFA 22 getting an average of 78%.

Lockdown Love Affair

The timing of FIFA 21's release proved fortunate as it coincided with lockdowns from the COVID pandemic, which is a highly likely reason for its high sales.

Not only this, but with many unable to work and in-person socialising restricted, lots found teaming up online a great way to pass the time and stay in contact with those closest.

Group sessions of Pro Clubs became a regular place where you could chat with your mates whilst having a laugh on the game, which could be a reason users remember FIFA 21 so fondly.