EA’s foray into its post-FIFA future starts very soon. During a livestreamed event, the publisher announced today that its new soccer franchise, EA Sports FC, will debut in early access on September 22nd before a wider launch on September 29th. It’ll be available on the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X / S, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch. You can get a first look at the new title — officially known as EA Sports FC 24, or FC24 for short — in the first gameplay trailer above.
The event opened with a lengthy monologue from EA CEO Andrew Wilson, in which he explained his long history with the sport, including his work at EA Sports, and managed to not say the word FIFA once. “We’re going to take another giant leap forward,” Wilson said of the new title. The ultimate goal, he said, was to connect 1 billion fans through the franchise.
FC24 is built with an “overhauled” version of EA’s Frostbite engine, which includes a technology called Hypermotion V, which the company says makes it possible to create new animations for the game in a matter of days. There’s also a new technology called “playstyles,” which utilizes real-world player data to create more realistic recreations of real players.
The new game will expand EA’s presence in women’s club soccer — which began in FIFA 23 — with two new leagues, covering professional clubs in Germany and Spain, as well as the addition of women’s soccer to the popular “ultimate team” mode. The company also announced “exclusive” agreements with both the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League. (These were announced by having stars like Luis Figo and Ronaldinho carrying trophies onstage.)
As part of the announcement, the company revealed a new mobile game called FC Tactical, described as a turn-based take on the sport.
Earlier in the week, EA revealed a CG trailer for the game, along with the cover for its “ultimate edition,” which features… a lot of players, some of whom look a little creepy in digital form. There’s a balance between modern-day stars (both men and women) alongside a number of legends, suggesting that EA is going for a broad approach as it kicks off this franchise.
As for FIFA, the governing body isn’t leaving the video game space entirely, though its early post-EA efforts have been, let’s say, a little less exciting.
The reveal of EA Sports FC 24 comes just a week before the FIFA Women’s World Cup kicks off in Australia and New Zealand.
