EA Sports FC 24 Revealed: Release Date, Women’s Football in Ultimate Team, More

EA Sports FC 24, the newly rebranded football simulation game franchise, has been fully revealed with a release date of September 29. The date matches leaks from last week, which suggested that the game would debut in early access seven days prior — on September 22 — available to those who pre-order the Ultimate Edition. Manchester City F.C. footballer Erling Haaland was revealed as the cover star, putting in a surprise appearance at EA's global event in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson was present, of course, delivering a lengthy monologue about his love for football, while somehow managing to not slip up a single time and accidentally blurting out the word ‘FIFA.'

In a sense, FC24 is basically the same FIFA game you've known for years, but with new branding and a couple of additional features that are entirely novel to the franchise. First up, EA Sports will continue to expand on the presence of women's football in the game, by bringing them to the Ultimate Team mode for the first time. Judging by the trailer, it appears as though the division won't be separated as men's or women's FUT, but rather combine the two so you can have either gender on the same team and on the pitch. The studio previously brought the National Women's Soccer League to FIFA 23 and it seems like the trend will carry over to this new iteration, thanks to the addition of two new women's leagues — Liga F and Frauen-Bundesliga, the main women's leagues in Spain and Germany, respectively.

EA Sports has secured agreements with various footballing leagues to keep FC24 as true to the actual sport, bringing in hundreds of stadiums, over 19,000 players, and more than 30 official leagues including the Premier League, La Liga, and the UEFA Champions League. For the uninitiated, EA Sports ditched the FIFA brand following a financial disagreement with the footballing body, which reportedly asked for a $1 billion (about Rs. 8,216 crore) payment every four years. Electronic Arts then withdrew from the agreement, with CEO Wilson claiming that the only value it ever got from the FIFA deal was the “four letters on the box.”

An enhanced version of the Frostbite Engine serves as the foundation of the game, which boasts smoother animations and redesigned player models. HyperMotionV serves to offer realism in the game, having captured volumetric data from over 180 professional men's and women's football matches to deliver realistic movement. Meanwhile, PlayStyles goes beyond overall player ratings to bring to life the on-pitch abilities that are said to make players special. Each PlayStyle gives players unique capabilities you'll see and feel that make their way of playing more 'authentic'. The company also introduced Ultimate Team Evolutions, allowing you to upgrade players throughout the season based on individual objectives, granting additional stat boosts and skills.

EA Sports FC 24 pre-order

Pre-orders are now live, with the EA Sports FC 24's Standard Edition offering a cover star loan player item, a male and a female ambassador loan items, Player Career Personality Points, and a 5-star coach for the manager mode. The Ultimate Edition comes with all the above bonuses, alongside seven days of early access, 4,600 FIFA Points, a UCL Ultimate Team Hero, and a Team of the Week 1 player.

EA Sports FC 24 Standard Edition starts at Rs. 3,499 on Steam and Epic Games Store for PC, and Rs. 4,499 on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X. FC24 Ultimate Edition is priced at Rs. 5,199 on Steam and Epic Games, and Rs. 6,499 on the Xbox Store and PlayStation Store. You can save 10 percent with EA Play on both editions on consoles.

EA Sports FC 24 system requirements

EA Sports FC 24 minimum PC requirements

• OS: 64-bit Windows 10
• Processor (CPU): Intel Core i5-6600K or AMD Ryzen 5 1600
• RAM: 8GB
• Graphics (GPU): Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti (4GB) or AMD Radeon RX 570 (4GB)
• Storage: 100GB

EA Sports FC 24 recommended PC requirements

• OS: 64-bit Windows 10
• Processor (CPU): Intel Core i7-6700 or AMD Ryzen 7 2700X
• RAM: 12GB
• Graphics (GPU): Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 or AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT
• Storage: 100GB

EA Sports FC 24 is out September 29 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, and the Nintendo Switch. Pre-ordering the Ultimate Edition grants you seven-day early access from September 22.