Game News Hollywood stars are hiding in FIFA 23, and have some humor!
Published on 05/01/2023 at 16:06
If the easter eggs are legion in the world of video games, this practice is generally more reserved for action-adventure titles, in solo as well as in multiplayer, but not very common in sports games, which are quite stingy in fantasy. However, this is not the case with FIFA 23, which has the luxury of cleverly concealing Hollywood celebrities…
Historically, it is not in sports games that the most subtle references to the joy of easter egg fans are hidden. In general, this type of nod is reserved for more action and adventure oriented titles, and the developers most often hide them in a well-hidden corner of the map, or at the conclusion of a secondary quest. However, FIFA 23 deviates from the rule, and even does more than just a reference, since it simply includes Hollywood stars in a role that is perfectly consistent with Electronic Arts’ annual football simulation. Not only is it not that much of a surprise, but it’s also done with a lot of humor…
Summary
FIFA is not at its first attemptA 5th division club in FIFA!The easter egg of FIFA 22 even further
FIFA is not at its first attempt
In FIFA 23 are AFC Richmond (a fictional club) and Ted Lasso, from an Apple TV+ series.
If you play FIFA and/or follow the news around the famous license developed by EA Sports, you are aware that the latter allows itself a little fantasy. Lately, we had thus seen Ted Lasso and his famous AFC Richmond join the cast of the game, testifying to the publisher’s desire to include elements of fiction in its simulation, which is nevertheless supposed to be serious, and known in particular for its large quantity of official licenses. But there was a way to link the most famous football game and pop culture in a slightly more implicit way, and it is thanks to an obscure 5th division Welsh club that an astonishing tribute was paid to two famous actors. And for good reason: the latter are quite simply the co-owners of the club concerned.
A 5th division club in FIFA!
Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds are the co-owners of an obscure Welsh club, Wrexham FC. (sky)
Indeed, in November 2021, the relatively anonymous club of Wrexham, stuck in the National League (fifth English division) since the 2008-2009 season, perhaps helped by its historic status as the oldest club in Wales, is bought by two actors: the Canadian Ryan Reynolds and the American Rob McElhenney, through their joint venture RR McReynolds Company LLC. This marks the beginning of a greater reputation, at least with FIFA consumers: from September 2021, alongside the release of FIFA 22, Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool, Detective Pikachu) announces himself the integration of Wrexham AFC in the game, which is about to be released a few days later. A special case in the license.
FIFA 22’s Easter Egg Even Further
An anonymous team from the English 5th division, Wrexham AFC is a bit of an “intruder” in the last two FIFAs.
The arrival of the “small” Welsh club in FIFA is already a huge easter egg in itself, given that the latter does not play in any of the championships under license from the EA Sports simulation. Admittedly, it contains a lot of competitions, but has never integrated 5th division teams! Thus, Wrexham AFC is added to the “Rest of the World” group, alongside other somewhat unclassifiable teams. But in FIFA 23, where this inclusion of the Welsh club is reproduced identically, the wink aspect goes much further, since the two actors have simply been integrated into the game… but only English-speaking players have been able to to notice. In this video of a match between Wrexham and Liverpool, the ogre of European football, they are simply “interviewed” by English commentators (after 42 seconds) and demonstrate a very… British humor, literally reversing the roles:
It’s a special match, it’s a big team against a very small team. A massive, gigantic club, facing a tiny team, almost an improvised version of a football team. We are of course talking about Liverpool, a very small club, in a very small town.
”’ – Ryan Reynolds in voice over in FIFA 23, during a Wrexham-Liverpool match
Another sequence, in a match between Wrexham and the Stockport Country club, promoted last year to the EFL League Two (fourth division), again allows us to hear the two Hollywood star co-owners speak at the request of the official game commentators. They explain here that this club was one of their main rivals in their first season, and that they feel a little bitter about the promotion to the higher division of the latter. The tone is somewhat sour, perhaps based on real frustration at having seen their chance for promotion pass them by, to the point of making their interventions very believable and realistic (wishing them “31 shades of humiliation”) in what is undoubtedly one of the most original and best hidden easter eggs in the history of football games!
