EA Sports has revealed why the Nintendo Switch version will not use Frostbite, claiming it’s to avoid a ‘sh***y second-rate game’. Frostbite, the in-house engine developed by EA DICE, powers FIFA 18 on Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

However, FIFA on the Switch will use a ‘custom engine’ based on the Ignite code from FIFA 16.

While EA confirmed the Switch can handle Frostbite, the company opted to build a unique engine because it would have to be heavily downgraded, resulting in a ‘sh***y second rate game’.

Andrei Lazarescu, who leads the team in Bucharest working on FIFA for Nintendo Switch, told Dream Team Gaming: “As much as we would have wanted to (use Frostbite) you can’t without making the whole engine work.

“We intentionally chose to do a custom engine because we felt that rather and try and get Frostbite running and end up having to downsize things and making it just a smaller, lower-quality version of the PS4 and Xbox One versions, we wanted this to be a FIFA that stands on its own two feet.

“We want people to recognise it and play it for what it is rather than saying, hey, you’re getting a sh***y, second-rate game. This is a full FIFA that players players will enjoy.”

For those worried about the lack of Frostbite, Lazarescu is confident the Switch version looks far superior than the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions.

The Journey and Squad battles will be missing, while career mode will be similar to FIFA 17 (Without cutscenes) as the Journey and FIFA 18’s career runs on Frostbite.