Fifa 21: 'Toxic behaviour' cut from goal celebrations

The "shush" goal celebration will be removed from Fifa 21

The Fifa 21 video game will feature fewer player celebrations as EA Sports attempts to curb "toxic" behaviour among gamers.

Players will no longer be able to use the "shushing" celebration, which was often used to gloat and stall games.

Fifa 21's lead game-play producer Sam Rivera said some celebrations had been removed following calls from gamers.

The latest instalment of the Fifa videogame series is due to be released in October.

"We were told by the community that there's toxic behaviours in the game, and we wanted to make sure we removed them," said Mr Rivera.

"So we removed some of the celebrations that people thought were not the best idea to have in the game."

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As well as the "shushing" reaction, an "A-OK" hand gesture will also be removed, and goal celebrations will be shorter overall.

"The intention there is just to keep you playing instead of doing other things that may not be necessary in the game," said Mr Rivera.

Ryan Howard, co-founder of gaming platform The Nerd Council, said the changes were unlikely to have a fundamental impact on gamer behaviour.

"Removing goal celebrations that are deemed toxic will not change the nature of the game or the feeling of losing," he said.

The Fifa series remains one of the most popular video game franchises in the world, having sold more than 260 million copies as of 2018.

The latest edition - Fifa 21 - will be released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, as well as the next-generation Xbox Series X and PS5 consoles.

EA Sports says the newer consoles will feature enhanced graphics, taking advantage of more advanced technology.

Nintendo Switch players will get a "legacy edition" of the game that will primarily include new kits, teams and an updated menu system.