Instead of FIFA 24, EA’s next football simulation title is confirmed as EA Sports FC. It will be a brand new franchise and will determine how EA Sports proceeds now their FIFA exclusivity deals has come to an end. Here’s everything known about EA Sports FC 24, including an estimated release date, anticipated platforms, modes, leaks and more.
What is EA Sports FC?
EA Sports FC is the new football simulation series developed and published by EA. The FIFA series got its name from the football world governing body, with which EA have had a long-standing partnership and licensing agreement. That deal is set to expire in 2023 and will not be renewed.
Instead, EA will produce and release football titles under the new name ‘EA Sports FC’, beginning with the 2024 installment. That’s different to the FIFA series, which is set to continue under the supervision and development of the governing body, FIFA.
Expected Release Date
There’s not currently a confirmed release date for EA Sports FC’s first installment. However, we do expect it to track roughly with the FIFA series’ history. That means it should release in fall of 2023, giving the developers time to implement real-world football changes, like transfers, promotions and relegations.
With the reveal of the official branding and logo in April, EA promised more information in July 2023. As a result, a late summer or fall release is pretty much a guarantee, it’s just when specifically.
There have been rumors of a slightly earlier release date – potentially coinciding with the end of the summer transfer window (typically late August or early September), but that would be a big ask given it usually launches around a month later.
Modes, Platforms & Ways To Play
Thankfully, we know the fan favorite FIFA game modes are all set to return. EA have confirmed that Ultimate Team, VOLTA, Career Mode and Pro Clubs will translate over. Those modes belong to EA and their development team, not the FIFA governing body.
We also expect EA Sports FC to make its way to all the usual platforms. That is to say that PlayStation, Xbox and PC players can all look forward to getting their hands on the game when it releases.
Leagues & Licensing
This is where it gets slightly muddier. EA’s reveal of EASFC pointed to the company’s “unique licensing portfolio”, boasting over “19,000+ players, 700+ teams, 100+ stadiums and 30 leagues.”
They also stated that “exclusive partnerships” with some of the world’s biggest football leagues will continue – namely the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and MLS.
However, EA will no longer have a partnership with FIFA. As we’ve seen over the years with PES (now eFootball) that can cause issues and force devs to imitate real life clubs with similar monikers but minus official kits, badges and names. There has been a degree of that in FIFA 23, with some clubs – like Atalanta – represented via other means. Atalanta are know in-game as ‘Bergamo Calcio’. Similarly, Lazio are known as Latium.
The developers do look like bypassing many of these potential issues through their partnerships with the specific leagues, but it really does take us into unprecedented territory in the football video game world.
Leaks & Rumors
Because we’re still some way off EASFC’s release and the reveal of more information in July, there haven’t been all that many leaks. They have indicated that women’s football will come to Ultimate Team; a somewhat unsurprising development given the addition of the Women’s Champion’s League to FIFA 23.
There’s also been rumors of a refinement to some new FIFA 23 features, like the Position Change system in Ultimate Team. Specifically, Position Modifier cards look like they’ll be removed. New Heroes and ICONs are also chalked to drop, like Dimitar Berbatov and Bobby Charlton.
There’s also allegedly new content coming to other modes, with crossplay set to be added in Pro Clubs and online Career Mode reportedly in the works too. Naturally, take these leaks with a pinch of salt for now because much can change in the development process – and they’ll stay unconfirmed until EA make them official.
That’s everything we know about EA Sports FC 24 at the moment. We will of course update this page if and when more details are available but, in the words of EA, the future of virtual football is “very big and bright”.
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