Australia's Westfield Matildas, currently in Canada preparing for the FIFA Women's World Cup, will feature in EA SPORTS' FIFA 16 when it launches later this year.
The game which is due for North American release from 22 September 2015 onwards, will feature the women’s national squads of Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Sweden, and the United States of America.
The women’s teams will represent their respective federations in several FIFA 16 game modes including Kick Off, an offline tournament, as well as Online* Friendly Matches.
Matildas attacker Kyah Simon admitted it was exciting for the team to be depicted in the game and said the exposure would help the women's game grow.
“The entire Westfield Matildas team are honoured and excited about this exposure for the game, especially at a time when women’s football is exploding in popularity," Simon said.
“For Australia to be included as one of the 12 Women’s National Teams in FIFA 16 is another massive platform to showcase just how far women’s football has come. I am a huge fan of the FIFA game and think this move will have such a positive impact on the sport.”
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The development team responsible for FIFA 16 meticulously researched player movement and likeness to authentically recreate 12 top women’s teams.
Development was supported by a motion capture session at EA Canada with four top players from United States Women’s Team: Sydney Leroux, Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan, and Megan Rapinoe.
A mobile head scanning unit travelled to a variety of tournaments and events around the world to capture player images and to ensure that the players in FIFA 16 look as realistic as possible.
“Bringing some of the best women’s players and teams in the world to our franchise is a massive event for EA SPORTS, and we are equally excited about bringing millions of fans a new way to play,” said David Rutter, VP and GM, EA SPORTS FIFA.
“I honestly can’t believe all of the science and technology behind the game itself, let alone getting us into the motion capture suits and eventually into the game,” said Abby Wambach, world record holder for international goals scored and forward for the US, who play the Westfield Matildas in the opening game of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.
“We’re all excited to see ourselves in the game, but even more excited to see the reaction from all of the fans, including the fans of our team that maybe wouldn’t be expecting something like this from EA SPORTS.”