Just yesterday, we found out that many of the advanced features that are coming to the Xbox Series X and PS5 versions of FIFA 22 would not make their way to the PC release. Things like the new HyperMotion animation technology won't be available for the Steam release, and there's currently no plans of adding them in a future update.

Now there's another reason to avoid the PC version of FIFA 22, and that's a draconian installation limit of once per machine.

Head to the game's Steam page to check out the notice about DRM for FIFA 22. Besides having to install Origin for its third-party DRM, there's also a warning that FIFA 22 has a "1 machine activation limit."

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The wording here seems to imply an explicit limit of one installation per purchase. In other words, if you own several PCs/laptops and want to install FIFA 22 so you can play on each one, you'll have to buy the game again for each machine you install it on.

FIFA 22 on Steam - via Steam
via Steam

Obviously, this sucks if you happen to own more than one machine, but it also sucks if you run into problems and need to replace some hardware. These sorts of DRM lockouts typically use motherboard info to identify the machine it's installed on, so if you replace the motherboard or upgrade to a new machine, you'll have to buy FIFA 22 all over again.

The one saving grace to Steam is its streaming functionality, which will let you stream the game from a PC to something like a laptop so long as you’re still on your home network. But streaming isn’t the same as playing natively--at least, not for most people.

Honestly, it sounds like the PS5 or Xbox Series X versions are the way to go with FIFA 22, but be careful! Only the Ultimate Edition of FIFA 22 will come with a free next-gen upgrade if you buy it on the previous-gen consoles.

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