After 31 years, Electronic Arts has finally ended its partnership with FIFA to embark on a brand new series titled EA Sports FC. According to the statement made during their public event last night, this new era will introduce unique features that will set it apart from the previous series. It also promoted a big update for its women’s football game mode, which was introduced in FIFA 16.
EA has demonstrated that they remain the leading licensee for football players and leagues worldwide, despite no longer being an official partner of FIFA. The announcement reveals that their new game, EA Sports FC 24, will include over 19,000 players, 700 teams, 100 venues, and 30 licensed leagues. Additionally, EA has also committed to bring women’s football to a broader audience.
In this new series, EA has added more popular women’s football clubs and leagues to FC 24, including the UEFA Women’s Champions League, Barclays Women’s Super League, National Women’s Soccer League, D1 Arkema, Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga, and Liga F. Players will be able to acquire and utilize female football players’ cards for their Ultimate Team roster.
According to the teaser, female football players in this game will be able to play alongside male players in the UT mode, with their synergy enhancing when they are signed from the same club. While this represents a significant improvement compared to the limited game modes featuring women’s football in the existing FIFA series, it is possible that the inclusion of mixed-gender players may receive criticism in the future, considering the substantial differences in competitiveness between men’s and women’s football in reality.
In addition to the introduction of new leagues and clubs, EA has announced that FC 24 will feature Hypermotion V, which promises more accurate player animations through an enhanced algorithm. This engine enhancement is supported by data gathered from major football leagues, including La Liga in Spain.
EA Sports FC 24 will be available on September 29 (September 22 for early access in the Ultimate Edition) for PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X | S, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, with cross-play compatibility for the latest generation consoles. For the Nintendo Switch edition, EA will abandon the Legacy mode and introduce the Frostbite engine version for the first time on the console, enabling demanding game modes such as Volta and The Journey to be available on day one.
