EA Sports FC 24 — formerly, FIFA — is reportedly launching on September 29. As per reliable data miner billbil-kun, EA’s annual (but rebranded) football simulation game will be available in Standard and Ultimate editions, with the latter granting a week’s worth of early access — unlike FIFA 23’s three days — starting September 22. Meanwhile, players subscribed to the EA Play service get a 10-hour free trial. Back in April, the publisher promised more information on EA Sports FC in July and the timing of this leak feels super convenient as well. The title marks EA Sports’ first football game since ending its relationship with the global footballing federation, following which it lost the iconic ‘FIFA’ moniker.
The report also refers to another leak from Twitter user @ALumia_Italia, who’s built a reputation for scraping the Xbox backend, adding file sizes for EA Sports FC 24’s closed beta versions. As per the miner, the Xbox Series X version weighs 41.57GB, while the old-gen Xbox One beta comes in at 39.23GB. It’s not surprising for the game to be available on older generation consoles, given the FIFA franchise has always been competitive in nature — akin to Call of Duty — so they could appeal to or cover a larger player base, across all markets and platforms. Currently, there is no word on file sizes for the PC and/ or PlayStation versions. With FIFA out of the picture, EA Sports has a lot more pressure to put out quality titles that mimic the gargantuan success of its predecessors. For now, very little is known about EA Sports FC, but we can expect its money-maker Ultimate Team game mode to be part of the package.
The publisher unveiled the official logo for EA Sports FC in April — shaped like an upside-down triangle that’s derived from the in-game marker floating on top of players’ heads. This is what the franchise will be known as going forward, though it’s unlikely there will be big changes to the base gameplay. For the uninitiated, EA Sports had financial disagreements with the FIFA federation, with the latter allegedly demanding over $1 billion (about Rs. 8,253 crore) every four years to license out the moniker to the long-running series. EA CEO Andrew Wilson then responded to the demands, claiming that he was willing to drop the ‘FIFA’ branding from its games and that the only value EA ever got from the license, in a non-World Cup year, was the “four letters on the box.” The studio will continue to retain most of its existing licenses for football clubs and top leagues, including the Premier League, which reportedly cost $588 million (about Rs. 4,852 crore).
Meanwhile, the FIFA footballing body suggested last year that it would be working with other third-party developers to create its own game. “I can assure you that the only authentic, real game that has the FIFA name will be the best one available for gamers and football fans. The FIFA name is the only global, original title. FIFA 23, FIFA 24, FIFA 25, and FIFA 26, and so on — the constant is the FIFA name and it will remain forever and remain THE BEST,” Gianni Infantino, FIFA President, said in a media release.
If the leaks are true, EA Sports FC 24 should be out September 29 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X. It is not yet known if the upcoming sports title will be available on the Nintendo Switch, like previous entries in the series.