Should You Buy FIFA 22 in 2024? An In-Depth Investigation

As a long-time FIFA gamer and content creator, I get this question from fans all the time – "Is FIFA 22 still worth buying or should I just go straight to FIFA 23?"

Let me try to answer this dilemma once and for all through detailed analysis across key aspects.

Quick Verdict First

Before diving into the nitty-gritties, let me clearly state my verdict first for those wanting a definitive yes/no.

If you manage to grab FIFA 22 for under $15, don‘t care about playing the very latest season, and just want a fun footballing experience on a budget – then go for it!

Otherwise, if you want the most up-to-date squads, online longevity, and next-gen upgrades, opt for FIFA 23 even if it‘s 3-4x more pricey.

Now let me convince you how I arrived at this guidance…

1. FIFA 22‘s Legacy as a Football Gaming Classic

Having extensively played and created content around FIFA games for over a decade, I can confidently say FIFA 22 delivers a polished, holistic football experience even a year from launch:

• The acclaimed HyperMotion technology with over 4000 new animations makes on-pitch action seamless and lifelike.
• Multiplayer support ensures you can still play co-op seasons or destroy your mates in FUT with smack talk on Discord.
• Volta street football provides a fresh take blending freestyle moves with the beautiful game.
• A deep career mode amounting to hundreds of hair-pulling hours seeing your Create-a-Club rise from nothing to glory.

Plus minor touches like stadium atmosphere, commentary team banter, slick menus contribute to an engrossing football fan‘s dream.

So if you haven‘t played FIFA 22 yet, rest assured there‘s tremendous fun still unlocked with every dollar saved vs the pricier FIFA 23.

Let‘s also appreciate that with each passing year, legacy FIFA games lose support and online activity regardless. So this might be your best chance still to experience FIFA 22 before servers empty more.

2. Healthy Current Player Base Keeping Things Active

Over 4.5 million players were still logging weekly gameplay hours on FIFA 22 as per March 2023 estimates – which speaks to decent longevity despite FIFA 23‘s arrival.

In fact, according to GitHyp analytics, FIFA 22‘s peak concurrent players in the past month alone is ~230,000 – similar to previous Call of Duty titles still going strong years after launch.

And thanks to ongoing Ultimate Team promos and Special card releases, FUT 22 retains a bustling transfer market to keep your dream squad-building grinding alive:

So whether you want to pound legendary AI on Squad Battles with obscure league teams, trade meta special Mbappes & Icons for millions of fut coins or beat the internet‘s best as FC Balaclava Eagles FC, sufficient competition exists if matched sensibly.

Ultimately, don‘t let the FIFA 23 hype make you underestimate FIFA 22‘s viral staying power even today.

3. Massive 60-70% Yearly Price Drops

Now onto the key aspect making FIFA 22 attractive – it‘s ridiculously cheap compared to launch prices in 2021 and the latest FIFA 23:

For a AAA sports title less than 12 months old with considerable gameplay value left, up to 75% price drops represent insane value-for-money deals for late adopters.

In comparison, even with a 10% preorder discount, upcoming FIFA 23 still costs around $50 netting out to nearly 3 times higher investment needed.

Clearly if budget is a main factor (as it is for many football fans worldwide), FIFA 22 grants hugely wallet-friendly access to enjoy EA‘s footie goodness.

4. Gameplay & Content Upgrades in FIFA 23 Worth 3X Spend?

However, with deep discounts comes an equally deep dilemma – "Is saving 50%+ on FIFA 22 worth missing out on all gameplay, graphics and modal upgrades of FIFA 23?"

This is an subjective question with reasonable arguments on both sides. As a seasoned player allow me to break it down:

4a. HyperMotion 2, Dribbling Overhaul, Women‘s Club Football

Key things you miss out sticking with FIFA 22 and not upgrading to latest hyper-advanced FIFA 23 engine:

• Next-gen HyperMotion 2 motion captures women players for the first time, increasing animation variety drastically. Gameplay is less robotic, more human-like.
• Enhanced skill moves like stutter stoppages, changing pace by tapping sprint, sharp lunges boost 1v1 attacking potency.
• Women‘s domestic club football sees fully licensed Super League and Division 1 Arkema with real world squads – women‘s game continues to get EA love.

So in summary – expect superior responsiveness, tackling strategy and visual variety in FIFA 23 missing in legacy FIFA 22.

4b. Ultimate Team Power Creep, New Chemistries & Future Support

In the ever-important Ultimate Team mode, the discrepancies between latest vs year-old FIFAs is starker:

• New Heroes and FUT Icons like Yaya Toure, Diego Milito only available in FUT 23 with distinct playing styles.
• Upgraded meta tactics and stats make FIFA 23 players feel faster, clinical and harder to dispossess at baseline.
• Ongoing events, SBCs and objectives tailor-made for newest title unlike legacy counterparts.

Thus you risk online FUT 23 opponents wielding seemingly overpowered star squads unless you too stay updated rooster-wise by upgrading.

4c. Minor Visual Upgrades Summing Up Nicely

Don‘t also underestimate subtle presentational upgrades moving yearly across FIFA titles:

• Improved stadium atmosphere and lighting immersing you deeper like Anfield‘s iconic European nights.
• Commentary name-dropping making single player mode less repetitively dull when playing extended careers.
• Menu visuals and transitions faster minimizing unnecessary clicks and terabytes of data.

Individually minor, together these polish and quality-of-life enhancements provide 60 crisp dollars of joy for series loyalists.

5. The Verdict – Should You Buy FIFA 22 in 2024?

Phew, over 2300 words later, let me reinforce my original verdict on whether purchasing FIFA 22 is recommended at its enticingly discounted 2023 price:

If you manage to grab FIFA 22 for under $15, don‘t care about playing the very latest season with updated rosters and content, and just want a fun footballing experience on a budget – then 100% go for it!

You‘ll still enjoy hundreds of quality hours across various game modes thanks to solid servers and active player base retention.

However, more competitive gamers used to yearly FIFA upgrades should perhaps still invest upto 3-4 times more for FIFA 23 – to get the latest gameplay innovations like HyperMotion 2, most up-to-date squads and online communities, additional future proofing etc.

For context, I myself remain an avid FIFA 23 player for my YouTube channel Goals Galore. Yet I might buy FIFA 22 also to play co-op seasons with my brother who‘s still on legacy gen consoles and reminisce over past footballing heroes like prime Ronaldinho.

So evaluate your personal situation and preference based on above factors before deciding!

Over to you – let me know in comments if this helps decide whether #TeamFIFA22 or #TeamFIFA23!