FIFA 23: How To Turn Off Negative Commentary

It's easy to think that each new generation of "FIFA" is more or less the same game, except with updated player rosters, gameplay, and graphics, but the truth is that there's a lot more to it than that. The developers at EA work hard with each consecutive generation to introduce new features and customization options to offer players the best gameplay experience possible. This is why the franchise has remained on top for decades despite growing competition and controversies related to its use of loot boxes. "FIFA 22" changed the series by instituting cross-play and allowing players to turn it on or off through the settings. This made it so that the option was present for those who wanted it and toggleable for players that didn't want to utilize the features. The brand new "FIFA 23" also reportedly has this capability and adds several new features.

A particularly interesting customization option included is the ability to disable critical commentary. The announcers commentating on the game will occasionally critique the players' team when they aren't performing as well as they could. The Disable Critical Commentary feature removes the negative comments from Derek Rae and Stewart Robinson so that the player can focus on the game without added verbal abuse. Here's how to activate it.

Some people might not mind the negative commentary when a play goes poorly or the opposing team scores a goal, others may even be motivated by Derek Rae and Stewart Robinson's chiding, but there are plenty of people out there who don't need a pair of commentators piling on when they're already struggling. Fortunately, turning off the negative commentary is easy. Players simply need to go into the Game Settings and shift over to the Audio tab. Here, they will find several different audio controls and volume sliders. Simply scroll down until the option labeled "Disable Critical Commentary" is reached and switch it over to "On." And that's it, the mode will now be in effect.

It is worth noting that Wesley Yin-Poole of Eurogamer found that, although there did seem to be a significant reduction in negative feedback, this mode isn't always effective and the occasional critical comment still slipped through even after it was activated. "FIFA 23" is currently still in a trial mode though, so it's not wholly unexpected for there to be a few bugs. 

With "FIFA 23" officially launching on September 30, fans will have to wait and see if the issue has already been resolved prior to release.