GOALS 2.0 is our biggest update since launch.
If you tried GOALS at launch and bounced off it, this is the version we want you to come back for. We’ve focused first on making the football better. Passing and defending have been significantly reworked, AI has taken a major step forward, and movement, trapping, tackling, switching and goalkeepers have all been improved.
TL;DR
- Major gameplay update: Reworked passing, targeting and defending, alongside improvements to trapping, movement, tackling, physicality, switching and goalkeepers.
- Much better AI: Better attacking runs, passing options, midfield positioning, defensive structure, marking and offside awareness.
- 5v5 Ranked: Compete as a five-player team, with every player controlling their own character.
- Solo 5v5 vs Bots: Take one character through a six-match competition alongside AI teammates.
- New onboarding: A completely rebuilt onboarding experience with interactive football tutorials.
- More reasons to play: Swaps 2.0, progression changes, revamped rewards, Tournament changes and new challenges.
Gameplay
Gameplay is at the heart of GOALS 2.0. We’ve made major changes across passing, defending and AI.
Passing & Trapping
- Reworked passing to make it more responsive, predictable and skill-based.
- Improved receiver selection and pass targeting.
- Improved pass lock-on to produce more consistent results.
- Improved through balls and crosses.
- Further balanced lofted through passes.
- Improved passing animations.
- Improved trapping and first touches.
- Players can now adjust their trap direction later during execution.
- Improved fake shots from lofted passes and shots.
Defending & Physicality
- Reworked defending with greater emphasis on positioning, reading your opponent and timing your actions.
- Improved tackling, barges, blocks and physical interactions.
- Improved possession switching after tackles to reduce tacklebacks and accidental clearances.
- Improved right-stick switching priority when selecting nearby players.
- Added a new Manual Switch Override option that prioritizes switching to the pressing player.
- Improved defensive marking and positioning.
AI
- Improved attacking runs and offensive positioning.
- Improved AI positioning and decision-making to provide better passing options and more natural attacking support.
- Improved midfield positioning and spacing.
- Improved defensive structure and marking.
- Improved defensive lines and offside awareness.
- Improved 5v5 AI teammate positioning and decision-making.
- Added adaptive bot difficulty to provide a smoother experience for new players.
Movement & Skill Moves
- Improved turning and acceleration when making sharp changes of direction.
- Improved dribbling animation selection.
- Improved how player animations adapt to the ball and movement.
- Improved skill move responsiveness and execution.
Goalkeepers
- Improved goalkeeper auto-rush and sweeper keeper behavior.
- Improved goalkeeper positioning and decision-making.
- Added more catch and parry animation variety.
5v5 Ranked
5v5 is becoming a major pillar of GOALS with the introduction of 5v5 Ranked. Five human players compete together as a team, with every player controlling their own character.
- Added 5v5 Ranked.
- Added a dedicated 5v5 Ranked Hub with 3D player and party presentation.
- Added dedicated 5v5 Ranked match intros and squad presentation.
- Added improved lobby presentation with player cards, MVP and score displays.
- Added an off-screen ball indicator.
Solo 5v5 vs Bots
Added a completely new way to play GOALS solo. Choose one character and battle through a six-match 5v5 competition alongside AI teammates.
- Added a six-match Solo 5v5 vs Bots competition.
- Face increasingly challenging AI teams as you progress.
- Control one character alongside four AI teammates.
- Added dedicated progression and rewards.
- Added dedicated character selection.
- Added a trophy presentation for completing the competition.
New Onboarding & Tutorials
We’ve completely rebuilt the first-time experience to make learning GOALS faster and clearer.
- Added a new Onboarding Hub with structured stages and challenges.
- Added interactive tutorials covering movement, sprinting, passing, shooting, tackling and player switching.
Swaps 2.0, Rewards & Progression
We’ve rebalanced progression across GOALS, including player aging, rewards and Swaps, to make building and evolving your squad more rewarding over time.
Progression & Aging
- Adjusted the player aging cadence as part of a broader progression rebalance, alongside improved rewards to give players more opportunities to strengthen and evolve their squads.
Swaps 2.0
- Added Swaps 2.0.
- Players can now merge players into higher Tiers.
- Added new Swaps for Originals.
- Added new Swaps for Retired players.
Ranked & Knockout
- Revamped Ranked rewards.
- Revamped Knockout rewards.
- Increased the number of attempts available across Knockout divisions.
Tournaments
- Added new Tournament requirement variants.
- Tournaments can now use either random or loose skill-based matchmaking depending on their format, allowing events such as Beginner Tournaments to provide more appropriate matchups.
- Increased rewards for winning Tournaments.
Challenges
- All Rookie, Contender and Champion challenges can now be completed in 5v5.
- Added new Solo Play challenges.
- Added new Competition challenges.
- Added new GOALS 2.0 challenges.
- Added new 5v5 challenges.
- Added new events across Rookie, Contender, Champion, Daily and Weekly challenges.
Parties, Matchmaking & Online Play
- Added Rejoin and Abandon flows.
- Added clearer reconnect, abandon cooldown and leave-match messaging.
- Improved matchmaking for new players by assessing skill before their first match, helping create a better first matchup when another new player is not available.
- Added OVR protection for new players, reducing the likelihood of being matched against significantly stronger squads unless matchmaking times become too long.
- Improved latency thresholds so matchmaking can prioritize lower-latency matches when player availability allows.
- Improved matchmaking and disconnect handling.
- Friends can now be invited directly without manually creating a party first.
- Improved party and private lobby session handling.
- Improved network prediction and movement validation.
Stadiums & Presentation
- Added the new Premier stadium.
- Improved Barcelona lighting and post-processing.
- Improved Aerotech lighting and post-processing.
- Added new loading screens.
- Improved stadium performance.
- Improved goal, HUD and lobby audio.
UI & Quality of Life
- Added the new 3D frontend and party presentation, including 3D characters, improved camera presentation, new idle and facial animations, updated character visuals and improved kit presentation.
- Added an improved Trainer HUD.
- Added profile pictures and party member avatars.
- Improved the Friends List.
- Pass Selection is now displayed by default.
- Updated the Pass Selection helper visuals.
- Fixed assists sometimes not appearing in goal replays.
- Improved localization throughout the game.
- Numerous improvements across menus, HUDs and challenges.
Performance & Stability
- Improved compatibility with older CPUs and handheld PCs.
- Improved performance and stability across the game.
GOALS 2.0 is a major step forward, but we’re not done.
We want GOALS to be a competitive football game where your decisions matter, skill matters and every squad is unique, with no scripting and no yearly reset. If you haven’t played GOALS for a while, now is the time to give it another shot