Fifa 20 street mode: Volta brings long-awaited mode back to new game

Fifa is bringing back the beloved street mode, with a new update to Fifa 20.

Fifa Street became a fan favourite when it was released in 2012, giving players the ability to play skill-based matches in a variety of environments and different rules. But it hasn't received updates since, and has largely faded away.

But now EA Sports will bring back many of the same features with the new "Volta Football" mode in Fifa 20. Unlike previous versions of Fifa Street, the game will be completely integrated with the traditional stadium matches, allowing players to take their skills and progress from one to the other.

The new Volta mode also takes the same gameplay engine, so that it will have all the graphics and performance of the traditional Fifa games. But it lays entirely new and different mechanics on top, allowing for special skills and different games.

Developers say they had to make a number of minor tweaks to the way the game works – allowing players to be aware of the walls so that they can pass to themselves off them, for instance, and adapting the physics of the ball to allow for more precise and lower shots.

Matches will take place in a variety of urban environments, just as they did in the original games. They will include cages inside cities, for instance, as well as rooms inside halls for more professional matches.

But one of the many changes will allow players to adjust those stadiums. Players will be able to decide whether the stadiums have walls or no walls, and there will be three different sizes of pitch.

There will also be new kinds of match rules and types. Players will be able to take part in rush keepers or futsal, for instance, as well as allowing for matches with no rules or that are played as the first to a certain number of goals.

There will also be new kinds of skills that will be integrated with changes to the gameplay to allow for more control and skill in the tight places of the game.

Developers also revealed how there will be special kinds of replay, exclusive to the Volta mode, which will allow players to watch back their skills as if seeing them on Instagram stories or through a CCTV camera.

But perhaps the biggest new addition to the Volta part of the game is the story mode. Players can make their way through a career as a street footballer, and can also take part in an Volta League to play against other teams in the same way as in the traditional game's online seasons.

EA Sports said it would be a mistake to think of the new mode as just an updated version of Fifa Street.

"We haven’t had something like this integrated into a single FIFA product since the days of FIFA 98, and we’re excited to be able to finally deliver what we’ve been developing behind the scenes," it said in its announcement.

"That said, it’s important to note that VOLTA FOOTBALL is certainly not just FIFA Street or Indoor from years past. It’s street football built upon the foundation of our Frostbite Engine for the first time! This has afforded us the ability to deliver authentic gameplay and game mode experiences that are fundamentally pioneering and engaging."