Tom is an expert in all things Fortnite or the latest RPG release, but is probably spending too much time on the latest EA FC game.
Published:
Multiple brand-new soccer games have come and gone in recent years, attempting to bring disenchanted players over from the likes of EA Sports FC, but ultimately failing. “Seeing more than one million installs in the first ten days confirmed there’s a huge appetite for what we’re building,” Goals CEO Andreas Thorstensson told us in an exclusive interview, proving that the game has done better than most of its competitors when it comes to infiltrating the monopolized genre.
Launch was mixed; “Overall, we’re very happy. We unfortunately had some technical issues at launch that resulted in some negative feedback early on, but we’ve worked hard to address them quickly,” Thorstensson says. That was just the start, though, and the team was quick to begin improving the game, reacting to players’ comments, and planning for the future. “Goals is a live game, and we’re continuously improving everything from gameplay and progression to new modes like 5v5.”
However, not every update has been well received. One in early July was implemented to alter defensive play and improve overall gameplay balance, but fans were quick to say that it changed things too much. On social media, replies were filled with people saying Goals ruined the game and that it was too much like the other titles that they were looking for an alternative to.
“Some of the criticism was absolutely fair,” Thorstensson said. “One thing we’ve learned is that it’s not enough to improve the game – we also need to communicate our vision more clearly. Players naturally have different opinions on what soccer should feel like, so listening to feedback is incredibly important. But it’s equally important to filter that feedback through a clear vision.”
This feedback loop hasn’t just been useful for Goals understanding player sentiment, but it has also helped the team understand how best to communicate. Clarity about what it’s trying to build is vital. “If you don’t know what game you’re trying to build, you’ll end up chasing every opinion. Our job is to listen, learn, and improve while staying true to the experience we believe in.”
Thorstensson is firm in his belief that player feedback is “essential” to the evolution of Goals. “Some of our best ideas come directly from the community. At the same time, feedback isn’t about implementing every suggestion – it’s about understanding the underlying problem players are experiencing.” The studio has had to swim through all the noise and contradictory comments to understand how the majority of players are feeling. It can’t keep everyone happy, so it has to understand what players are seeing and use that feedback to improve the implementation of its vision.
That will only improve Goals in future updates. We’ve already spoken to Thorstensson about the team’s vision and plans for an esports ecosystem, but updates to the game will continue to come thick and fast.
“We’ve just started our regular update cadence. Hotfixes are for smaller balance adjustments and urgent fixes, while our monthly updates introduce larger gameplay improvements, new systems, and features,” he says. “Movement, passing, attacking AI, and overall responsiveness remain major areas of focus, and you’ll continue seeing meaningful gameplay improvements every month.” As changes are made, the player feedback and update implementation loop will only improve, hopefully creating a soccer game that stands the test of time and has a real chance against the behemoth competition.
