During the EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Closed Beta, we heard your feedback across the game through the EA Closed Beta Forums, the FC 27 Closed Beta Player Feedback Portal, and Discord. We’ve been reviewing that feedback to better understand your experience and the topics that mattered most
During the EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Closed Beta, we heard your feedback across the game through the EA Closed Beta Forums, the FC 27 Closed Beta Player Feedback Portal, and Discord. We’ve been reviewing that feedback to better understand your experience and the topics that mattered most to you.
In this Pitch Notes, we’ll cover improvements driven by your feedback across areas including physical play, Team Press, Lengthy players, and more. We’ll also provide more context on some of the topics you’ve raised and share our approach to gameplay updates during the launch period.
Early Gameplay Title Update Strategy
We’ve been closely following player conversations and know there’s feedback about significant gameplay balance changes being made after launch. For EA SPORTS FC™ 27, we want to take a measured approach and do not plan on making significant gameplay balance changes in our early Title Updates.
How the game is played and understood can evolve quickly during the opening weeks as players learn new mechanics, discover different ways to play, and build squads. Because of that, we don’t want to react quickly to early trends with significant balance changes. Instead, we’ll give the gameplay experience time to settle so we can better understand how the game develops and whether adjustments are needed.
Our intention is to preserve the gameplay experience we’ve built for launch and give players time to learn and adapt to it. We’ll continue listening closely to your feedback throughout that period, which you can share through the FC Feedback Hub.
We’ll still look to address bugs, unintended behaviours, and other issues that are significantly impacting the gameplay experience. In some cases, addressing these issues may have an impact on the balance of related gameplay systems. For example, addressing an unintended Goalkeeper behaviour could affect the balance between shooting and Goalkeeping more broadly. When fixes like these are needed, we’ll aim to make them as targeted as possible to address the specific issue while limiting their impact on the wider gameplay experience.
Bruiser & Shoulder Challenge Improvements
Physical play and the Bruiser PlayStyle have been big topics coming out of the EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Closed Beta. We still want physical play to be a viable way to win the ball while defending, but we’ve made some changes to make Shoulder Challenges more consistent and address some unintended ways they could’ve been used.
Shoulder Challenges should be most effective when the defender gets side-by-side with the ball carrier rather than attempting a challenge from behind.
One behaviour we wanted to address was repeatedly pressing Shoulder Challenge while chasing an opponent until a challenge eventually triggered. Now, repeatedly pressing Shoulder Challenge in quick succession will cause the defender to stick out an arm and lose speed, making it more difficult to chase down an opponent by repeatedly using the input.
When you get into the right position and time the challenge properly, physical defending remains effective. Strength continues to play an important role, with the Bruiser PlayStyle providing an additional benefit. We’ve also slightly reduced the additional benefit provided by Bruiser+.
Team Press & Defensive Depth
Team Press is intended to be a way to apply pressure higher up the pitch, but we found it was also too effective when used close to your own goal. In those situations, AI teammates could automatically close down opponents and take too much of the defensive responsibility away from the user.
To address this, Team Press will now have no effect while the ball is in your defensive third. This directly addresses one of the most common ways Team Press could be used to automatically pressure attackers close to goal, requiring the defending player to take more responsibility for applying pressure in these situations.
When Team Press is used further up the pitch, defenders can still step towards their marked players, but will be less effective at applying pressure than midfielders and forwards. This also comes with a trade-off: as defenders move closer to their marked players, they can become more susceptible to passes played in behind the defensive line.
We also heard feedback that defensive lines could sit higher than expected, even when using a lower Defensive Depth. We’ve made adjustments so that lower depth settings are more clearly reflected in how your defensive line positions itself, with defenders retreating sooner and maintaining a more conservative position to leave less space in behind. Your defensive line will still adjust to what’s happening on the pitch, so setting a low depth doesn’t mean your defenders will stay deep in every situation.
AcceleRATE Update
Based on your feedback during the Closed Beta, we’ve looked at AcceleRATE itself as well as some of the other mechanics that were contributing to Lengthy players being particularly effective.
As previously announced in the FC 27 Gameplay Deep Dive, Triggered Runs will now have a limited distance. You’ll need to trigger another run if you want the player to continue their movement. This requires more active input when managing longer runs and also reduces some of the benefits Lengthy players could gain over extended distances.
We’ve also made a couple of other changes to further address the effectiveness of Lengthy players.
We’ve slightly reduced the impact of AcceleRATE profiles on a player’s running performance, bringing Explosive, Controlled, and Lengthy players a little closer together. This places greater emphasis on a player’s Acceleration and Sprint Speed Attributes.
We’ve also adjusted the height threshold for female players to be eligible for the Lengthy AcceleRATE profile. In FC 27, female players will need to be at least 5’8” (172 cm) to be eligible for Lengthy.
Together, we believe these changes provide a better balance between the different AcceleRATE profiles, while allowing each to remain useful depending on your players and your preferred style of play.
Player Lock Changes
We heard your feedback that Player Lock could be particularly effective with very little downside for an advanced mechanic. Based on that feedback, we’ve made some changes to introduce more of a risk-reward balance when using Player Lock.
When you Player Lock away from the ball carrier, the ball carrier will no longer automatically dribble around or avoid defenders. Instead, they’ll continue moving in the direction they were already travelling.
This gives the defending player a clearer opportunity to recognise the situation and apply pressure to the ball carrier, while requiring the attacking player to be more aware of what’s happening on the ball while controlling another player.
We’ve also slightly increased the error in passes made by the CPU-controlled ball carrier during Player Lock, further adding to the risk-reward balance of using the feature.
We want Player Lock to continue providing opportunities to create manual movement off the ball, while placing more responsibility on the player using it.
Dinked Pass Update
As previously announced in the Gameplay Deep Dive, Dinked Passes are fully manual in EA SPORTS FC™ 27.
Previously, Ground Pass and Through Pass could trigger different versions of the Dinked Pass, one toward a teammate and one into space. With Dinked Passes now being manual, where the ball goes will instead be determined by where you aim.
During the Closed Beta, we also saw that Dinked Passes could be triggered accidentally when pressing Ground Pass multiple times. To address this, Dinked Passes can no longer be performed using the Ground Pass input. Double-tapping or repeatedly pressing Ground Pass will result in a regular Ground Pass.
To perform a Dinked Pass, double tap Through Pass and manually aim where you want the ball to go.
Player Roles & Attacking Spatial Awareness
We’ve seen questions from the community about how the new Attacking Spatial Awareness system works alongside Player Roles.
Player Roles continue to determine the types of runs a player can make based on their position and Role. For example, an Inside Forward can look to make runs into the space between the centre back and fullback, while a Winger will consider runs that better reflect their wider positioning.
Role Familiarity then influences the urgency with which a player makes those available runs. Players with greater familiarity in a Role, including Role+ and Role++, will show more urgency when making those movements.
Attacking Spatial Awareness doesn’t replace Player Roles. Instead, the two systems work together to influence a player’s attacking movement.
Corner Kicks: What’s New in FC 27?
We’ve seen questions around what is actually different about Corner Kicks in FC 27 since you could already control a player in the box in FC 26.
While FC 26 gave you the ability to manually control a player in the box, the main difference with corners in FC 27 is the amount of assistance you get when manually positioning your player.
EA SPORTS FC™ 27 gives you free movement and no longer moves your player toward the expected landing position of the ball. It’s now down to you to read the trajectory, get into the right position and time the run.
The player you’re controlling matters too, as height and jumping ability can change where and when you want to attack the ball. A taller player with strong jumping, for example, may be able to meet the ball earlier in its trajectory. A player’s physical momentum also matters, so it’s not only about getting to the right spot, it’s also about how and when you arrive there.
You can also use Shielding to help hold a good position once you’ve found it, or use the new Avoidance mechanic to slip past opponents and try to beat them to the best spot to attack the ball.
Authentic Gameplay
Based on the feedback from the FC 27 Closed Beta, we’re making several refinements to CPU AI in Authentic Gameplay. In line with our approach to early gameplay updates, these changes are focused on targeted adjustments rather than significantly changing the overall balance of the gameplay experience.
These adjustments include, but are not limited to, the following areas:
Difficulty Calibration: Tuning difficulty progression to create clearer differences between Professional, World Class, and Legendary difficulties.
Tactical Adjustments: The thresholds for certain CPU Sliders, such as Sliding Tackle Frequency, are being recalibrated for more dynamic and realistic tactical behavior.
AI Behavior: We are implementing several changes to improve how the CPU AI builds attacks, approaches 1v1 finishing opportunities, and defends against specific offensive maneuvers such as through passes and triggered runs in certain situations.
We appreciate the detailed feedback you shared throughout the Closed Beta and will continue refining Authentic Gameplay ahead of launch.
Other Closed Beta Feedback
We also received a lot of feedback across The Grounds, Clubs, Career Mode, PC, and Football Ultimate Team™ during the Closed Beta.
For The Grounds, Clubs, and Career Mode, we’ve seen and are continuing to review your feedback. While you may not see updates addressing all of that feedback at launch, we'll continue to make improvements in future Title Updates and keep you updated on those changes through Pitch Notes, our EA SPORTS FC Direct channels, and the official EA SPORTS FC Discord.
For PC, we’ve also made a number of improvements based on feedback from the community, which you can read more about in the EA SPORTS FC™ 27 PC Deep Dive here:
For Football Ultimate Team™, we’ll have more to share about the changes we’re making ahead of launch in the upcoming Football Ultimate Team™ Launch Update Deep Dive.
Thank you to everyone who took part in the EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Closed Beta and shared their feedback with us. As we head towards launch, we’ll continue listening to your feedback while giving the gameplay experience time to settle. We’ll keep sharing more about the changes we make, the thinking behind them, and the areas where we believe more time is needed before making adjustments.
We look forward to continuing that conversation when EA SPORTS FC™ 27 arrives, with up to 7 days of early access through the Ultimate Plus Edition and Ultimate Edition ahead of worldwide launch on 25 September 2026.
Stay tuned for more EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Pitch Notes, and join the conversation to share your feedback with us in the EA SPORTS FC™ Discord
For EA SPORTS FC™ 27, we’ve focused on specific areas of the PC experience, including reducing launch times, modernising keyboard controls, expanding graphics options, and giving you better tools to tailor performance to your hardware. These changes are designed to help you spend
For EA SPORTS FC™ 27, we’ve focused on specific areas of the PC experience, including reducing launch times, modernising keyboard controls, expanding graphics options, and giving you better tools to tailor performance to your hardware. These changes are designed to help you spend less time getting set up, give you more control over how you play, and make it easier to configure FC 27 for your PC.
Before we jump into the PC changes for FC 27, we want to take a moment to thank you for all the feedback you’ve shared with us throughout FC 26. Hearing about your experiences and understanding what matters most to the PC community continues to help inform changes, and we’re committed to continuing to make EA SPORTS FC™ better on PC.
Please keep sharing your feedback with us here in the Steam Community Forums and the Official EA SPORTS FC Discord.
Launch Improvements
Throughout FC 26, we saw feedback from the community regarding the time it takes from launching the game to reaching gameplay.
For EA SPORTS FC™ 27, we’ve updated the startup flow on Steam, reducing the number of windows and loading steps visibly shown during the startup process. We’ve also made changes aimed at reducing launch times, with our testing showing improvements of around 50% in some configurations (results can vary depending on your hardware setup). Together, these updates are intended to reduce the friction between launching FC 27 and getting into the game.
Graphics Presets & PC Specifications
EA SPORTS FC™ 27 expands the available graphics presets, including new Performance and Balanced graphics modes, alongside new ‘High’ and ‘Ultra’ specification presets that target at least 80fps and 120fps, respectively, on the hardware specified in the PC requirements . These additions make it easier to choose an experience that best matches your hardware and how you want to play, whether you’re looking to prioritise for performance or visual quality. Graphics settings can still be customised individually, giving you further control over your visuals.
Steam Friends
We’ve also heard your feedback regarding having two separate friends lists, both on Steam and within EA SPORTS FC™. Previously, playing with a Steam friend who wasn’t already an EA Friend could mean manually searching for their EA ID and adding them first. With FC 27, Steam Friends are available automatically through EA Connect, making it quicker and easier to find and add them as an EA Friend before jumping into matches together.
VRAM Indicator
The graphics settings menu in FC 27 now includes a new VRAM indicator. As you adjust your graphics settings, the indicator estimates the expected maximum in-game video memory usage, giving you more information when deciding which settings are appropriate for your hardware.
Updated Keyboard Controls
EA SPORTS FC™ 27 brings a significant update to keyboard controls, introducing redesigned default keyboard layouts with the aim of making common movement and gameplay actions easier to access on keyboard.
Choose between two layouts:
WASD
Arrow Keys
These two layouts have been designed to make movement and gameplay actions feel more natural, while additional keyboard shortcuts make tactical adjustments during matches more accessible without having to move away from your core controls.
As always, controls remain customisable, so you can tailor the experience to your preference.
Enhanced Ultra Visuals
For those playing FC 27 using high-end PC hardware, we’ve introduced Enhanced Ultra Visuals. These new graphics options push visual quality beyond the existing Ultra preset, offering additional visual enhancements for players who want to prioritise visual fidelity and have the hardware to support it.
Enhanced Ultra Visuals are disabled by default, so enabling them is an optional way to push visual quality further. Players who want to prioritise performance can simply leave these options disabled and continue using the existing graphics presets.
Responsiveness & Performance
We closely monitored feedback around responsiveness and overall PC performance throughout FC 26 and have made a number of improvements for FC 27, including work aimed at reducing situations where high CPU load can negatively impact responsiveness, alongside additional PC performance optimisations.
Performance will vary depending on your hardware and configuration, and this remains an area we’ll continue to monitor. These changes specifically target some of the performance and responsiveness scenarios we observed throughout FC 26, rather than representing a single solution for every PC configuration.
For FC 27, we’ve specified dual channel memory in the hardware requirements, as having two sticks of RAM (2x4 GB for Minimum, or 2x16 GB for Ultra) can provide better performance than an equivalent amount of memory running in single channel.
For the best experience, we highly recommend using an SSD for storage, though an HDD is still supported by the Minimum requirements.
We’ll continue to monitor community feedback after launch and make improvements where possible.
Additional Resources
We’ll continue to expand our PC support resources to help you get the best experience from your hardware.
Updated support articles will include information on graphics settings, hardware recommendations, performance troubleshooting, and other optimisation tips to help tailor FC 27 to your setup:
Don’t miss your last chance to pre-purchase the Ultimate Plus Edition by 31 August and receive 7 days early access starting 18 September, up to 10,000 FC Points over 5 months, Seasons 1 – 5 of the Premium Pass, a Hall of FUT™ Player Pick (Pick 1 from Adebayo Akinfenwa, Giovani do
Don’t miss your last chance to pre-purchase the Ultimate Plus Edition by 31 August and receive 7 days early access starting 18 September, up to 10,000 FC Points over 5 months, Seasons 1 – 5 of the Premium Pass, a Hall of FUT™ Player Pick (Pick 1 from Adebayo Akinfenwa, Giovani dos Santos, Loïc Rémy, Marouane Fellaini, and Eljero Elia), 85+ OVR International ICON Player Item, and more.
Pre-purchase EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Ultimate Plus Edition by 31 August to receive an untradeable FUT™ 85+ OVR International ICON Player Item from a star-studded line-up.
Pre-purchase EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Ultimate Plus Edition by 31 August to receive an untradeable FUT™ 85+ OVR International ICON Player Item from a star-studded line-up.
Earned through every performance. Discover the EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Ratings database now and stay tuned for the full PlayStyles reveal. Don’t miss your chance to pre-purchase EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Ultimate Plus Edition by 31 August and receive 7 days early access starting 18 September, up
Earned through every performance. Discover the EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Ratings database now and stay tuned for the full PlayStyles reveal.
Don’t miss your chance to pre-purchase EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Ultimate Plus Edition by 31 August and receive 7 days early access starting 18 September, up to 10,000 FC Points over 5 months, Seasons 1 – 5 of the Premium Pass, a Hall of FUT™ Player Pick (Pick 1 from Adebayo Akinfenwa, Giovani dos Santos, Loïc Remy, Marouane Fellaini, Eljero Elia), and more*.
*Conditions & restrictions apply. See ea.com/games/ea-sports-fc/fc-27/game-disclaimers for details.
Welcome to The World’s Game in EA SPORTS FC™ 27. Step into The Grounds to experience a football playground where the streets meet the stadium, and feel greater control in every mode as community-driven innovations deliver more true-to-football gameplay. Pre-purchase EA SPORTS FC™
Welcome to The World’s Game in EA SPORTS FC™ 27. Step into The Grounds to experience a football playground where the streets meet the stadium, and feel greater control in every mode as community-driven innovations deliver more true-to-football gameplay.
Pre-purchase EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Ultimate Plus Edition now to receive an untradeable 1 of 4 Player Pick 93+ OVR ICON and a Player Evolution that boosts any player’s physical Attributes to 99 in EA SPORTS FC™ 26 (sold separately) Football Ultimate Team™.
Conditions & restrictions apply. See ea.com/games/ea-sports-fc/fc-27/game-disclaimers for details.
See how your favourites stack up against the 27 highest-rated men’s and women’s players in EA SPORTS FC™ 27 and look out for more Ratings reveals throughout the week. Pre-purchase EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Ultimate Plus Edition by 31 August and receive 7 days early access starting 18 Sept
See how your favourites stack up against the 27 highest-rated men’s and women’s players in EA SPORTS FC™ 27 and look out for more Ratings reveals throughout the week.
Pre-purchase EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Ultimate Plus Edition by 31 August and receive 7 days early access starting 18 September, up to 10,000 FC Points over 5 months, Seasons 1 – 5 of the Premium Pass, a Hall of FUT™ Player Pick (Pick 1 from Adebayo Akinfenwa, Giovani dos Santos, Loïc Remy, Marouane Fellaini, Eljero Elia), and more*.
*Conditions & restrictions apply. See ea.com/games/ea-sports-fc/fc-27/game-disclaimers for details.
Hey Steam Community! Discover EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Ratings alongside the first FUT™ Campaign of the Season, shaped by the FC community. The World’s Debate Earned through every performance. EA SPORTS FC™ 27 makes Ratings more connected to real-world football than ever before. Starting
Hey Steam Community!
Discover EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Ratings alongside the first FUT™ Campaign of the Season, shaped by the FC community.
The World’s Debate
Earned through every performance. EA SPORTS FC™ 27 makes Ratings more connected to real-world football than ever before.
Starting 15 August, look out for daily reveals, including the 27 highest-rated men's and women's players, Club Star Ratings, players from the biggest leagues in world football, and more. At the end of the week, explore the Ratings Database to see stats for every base Player Item in FC 27.
Then, once the international transfer window has closed and the squads for the new season are confirmed, look out for the final update to the EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Ratings Database in September, along with their Playstyles.
Football Ultimate Team™ Destined for Glory
FC 27 kicks off the season’s first Football Ultimate Team™ Campaign, shaped by the FC community. Starting 21 August, head to the Ratings Database and vote for the players you believe are set to define the season by making the biggest impact on the pitch. Your votes will help to decide the first Destined for Glory Squad, with featured Player Items receiving live upgrades based on real-world performance. Visit the Ratings Database using the link that will be added to this article on 21 August:
How to vote:
Visit the EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Ratings Database: Coming 21 August
Find a player you believe will shine in this year’s FUT™ season
Select the ‘Vote’ button beside your chosen player
Voting is open to everyone. Any player in the Ratings Database is eligible to receive votes, and you may vote for as many players as you like.
Destined for Glory FAQ
What do we mean by “define the season”?
Whether you expect them to break out, make an immediate impact at a new club, lead their team, or become one of the biggest stars this season, have your voice heard in the Ratings Database.
How are Destined for Glory Players selected?
Community voting will help shape the final Destined for Glory Squad.
Does my vote matter?
Yes. Your vote helps shape the final Destined for Glory Squad.
Who can I vote for?
Every player in the Ratings Database is eligible to receive votes.
How many players can I vote for?
There is no limit. Vote for as many players as you believe will define the season.
When can I vote?
Voting is open from 21 August - 10 September, 2026.
When does Destined for Glory launch?
The campaign runs from 25 September - 9 October, 2026.
Item Rarity
As announced in the Football Ultimate Team™ Deep Dive, FC 27 updates how base Item rarity works, with Bronze, Silver, and Gold Items no longer appearing as Common or Rare. As the FC 27 player ratings are revealed, you’ll see Items classified simply as Bronze, Silver, or Gold. You can learn more about this change here:
We look forward to continuing the conversation around the players, performances, and debates that define the season. Stay tuned for more Pitch Notes, and join the conversation to share your feedback with us on the EA SPORTS FC™ Discord:
We know players want to understand how their feedback shapes EA SPORTS FC™. Throughout FC 26, you told us what you’d like to see improved and that you wanted more transparency into how feedback is used, where it goes, and when it leads to change. As we approach the release of EA
We know players want to understand how their feedback shapes EA SPORTS FC™. Throughout FC 26, you told us what you’d like to see improved and that you wanted more transparency into how feedback is used, where it goes, and when it leads to change. As we approach the release of EA SPORTS™ FC 27, this Deep Dive explains how we approach feedback, and how your voice will help to shape the game.
After a full season of gathering your feedback through the Player Feedback Portal, Discord, EA Forums, Design Council, and more, we continue to get new feedback from you and refine how we review it. For FC 27, player feedback will inform the development process earlier, more often, and across more areas of the game.
How Can I Leave Feedback?
There are several places you can share feedback with our teams, depending on the type of feedback you want to provide.
The Player Feedback Portal is the clearest way to submit structured feedback about a specific area of the game
FC 27’s Portal will launch alongside the game and will be available to Closed Beta participants as well
Discord allows you to join real-time conversations and participate in polls
EA Forums provides you a space for more detailed and ongoing discussions
PC players can also share feedback through Steam Community
Each feedback channel helps us understand a different part of the player experience. Together, they give our teams a broader picture of how players are experiencing FC.
What Do We Do With Your Feedback?
When you share your feedback, it becomes part of a bigger picture that helps our teams understand what players are experiencing across EA SPORTS FC™.
Gathering feedback from a variety of sources helps us understand different parts of the player experience. Some give us a broad sense of how the community is feeling, some help us spot specific issues, and some help us to understand how different players experience the same feature, mode, or update.
Combining the feedback across these channels gives us a clearer picture of your current experience and allows us to:
Understand player priorities
Identify recurring issues and feedback trends
Share insights with development teams
Make changes where required
We bring this feedback together through our internal processes. Our FC 27 team meets consistently to review what players are telling us, identify the areas that require further investigation, and create action plans for how we can respond.
Those actions can take different forms, from investigating an issue more deeply or making direct changes to the game, to providing more clarity around how a feature works. The goal is to make sure feedback is shared with the right teams, considered alongside game data and development priorities, and communicated back to players as clearly as possible.
A single comment may not always lead to direct change, but when feedback trends are clear and consistent, they can help our teams better understand player priorities and determine the right next steps.
Our Approach To Feedback in FC 27
Throughout FC 26, we improved how we gathered and communicated player feedback, and for FC 27, we want to act on clear feedback trends sooner and provide greater visibility into the areas our teams are reviewing.
Throughout the season we’ll use surveys, polls, discussions, and playtests to ask players about specific features and areas of the game. This enables our teams to gather clearer feedback, better understand the reasons behind it, and compare what we hear across community discussions, gameplay data, and research.
We also want to do more to close the loop with players by communicating the feedback trends we are seeing, the areas our teams are investigating, and examples of where player input has contributed to changes.
Not every piece of feedback will lead to an adjustment, and some changes may require additional time, testing, or technical work. Our goal for FC 27 is to identify and respond to feedback trends more quickly while making it clearer how player feedback moves from the community into development.
Player Feedback Portal
The Player Feedback Portal is a survey that’s open 24/7 and lets you provide specific feedback on your chosen area of the game. The Portal continues to be the clearest and most direct way for our teams to review and track your feedback. It also helps us connect your responses with gameplay data, other community discussions, and broader social chatter.
Since the Portal’s launch last year, we’ve reviewed tens of thousands of responses covering nearly every aspect of FC 26. We’ll continue to use Portal responses closely throughout FC 27 to understand your experience, identify key feedback themes, and help inform where changes may be needed.
We’re currently getting the Portal ready for FC 27, and we’ll share the link with you as it rolls out alongside the Closed Beta and full game.
How to use the Player Feedback Portal:
Visit the Player Feedback Portal and sign in with your EA account
Select which part of the game you’d like to leave feedback on
Provide your detailed feedback
Press Submit
Our development and community teams regularly review Player Feedback Portal responses. We analyse data alongside broader community trends to validate findings and guide future updates. When additional context is needed, we may follow up through Discord or in-game communications.
Discord
Discord is key in helping us to understand community feedback in real time. The server is monitored daily by members of our team and moderators, ensuring feedback is reviewed, acknowledged, and shared with the right teams.
The best way to leave feedback on Discord is through the following channels:
Join the conversation in our official Discord and help shape the future of EA SPORTS FC™.
Steam Community
We also have a dedicated channel for PC feedback through Steam Community.
Our teams regularly monitor the Steam Community Hub to review bug reports, respond to player issues where possible, and collect PC-specific feedback to bring back to development teams.
There are two main ways to share feedback through the Steam Community. The first is by reporting issues and joining conversations in Discussions. The second is for noting any technical issues or bugs, posting detailed Bug Reports to help us investigate and identify trends affecting the community.
Stay tuned for our PC-specific Deep Dive in September, where we will discuss what’s coming to EA SPORTS FC™ 27 on PC.
EA Forums
EA Forums continue to be the main place for structured community discussion. The forums are organised by topic, allowing you to easily share detailed feedback, discuss recent updates, and engage with other members of the FC community.
Our community team and moderators review your posts to identify recurring themes and potential issues to inform in-game updates. Discussions on the EA Forums help us keep ongoing feedback topics updated, sourcing additional examples, videos, suggestions, and player discussion.
Design Councils enable us to bring global player perspectives into development. They help us hear from a variety of players with different playing styles, priorities, and experiences within the game.
For FC 27, we held the following three hands-on playtests, gathering detailed feedback from players, creators, and community voices across different areas of the game:
Career playtest in April 2026
The Grounds playtest in May 2026
Gameplay fundamentals and FUT playtest in May 2026
We were able to implement key feedback from each of these playtests to be ready in time for FC 27 launch. For example, the triggered run and through pass changes in FC 27 were a direct result of the feedback we received during our Gameplay Fundamentals playtest in May.
We’re planning to continue hosting these feedback sessions throughout FC 27 to ensure we’re creating updates that align with feedback from some of our most passionate players.
Closed Beta
The Closed Beta runs from 5 August, 2026 - 25 August, 2026. The Closed Beta is an invite only work-in-progress build of EA SPORTS FC™ 27 that gives selected players an early opportunity to try parts of the game before launch. As this is a pre-release build, some features may not reflect their final launch experience.
Before 18 August, eligible players will have access to The Grounds, while access to other modes may be limited. Your invitation email will tell you which game modes you can access. Starting 18 August, all modes will be available to play. Below are the PC Requirements for FC 27. More information will be coming soon in our PC Deep Dive.
Here’s how you can get invited to the Closed Beta.
In order for a chance to be selected for the Closed Beta, you’ll need to sign up for EA Playtesting first.
To learn more about EA Playtests and Closed betas, check out EA Help.
If you’ve been invited to play, we’ll send your code to the email address linked to your EA Account.
It’s against our rules to post, stream, capture, or otherwise share content from Closed Beta gameplay and forums. If you break those rules, you’ll lose access to the Closed Beta and be placed on a no-access list for future opportunities. In addition, your posted or streamed content may be taken down, and you might get a strike on any channels that you stream the Closed Beta from.
Our advisors can't give you a code if you don’t get one.
Your code is just for you. It can’t be transferred to another account or shared with another player.
The Closed Beta is only available in the US, Canada (excluding Quebec), United Kingdom, and Ireland
If you want to report a bug or give feedback, there’s a Closed Beta specific FC 27 forum you can visit. You can also expect to see the Player Feedback Portal and other surveys in-game.
You’ll have to login using your EA Account used to log in to the Closed Beta.
Please note that for the Closed Beta our advisors won’t be able to help troubleshoot anything that might happen while you’re playing.
For more information about the Closed Beta and FAQ, please visit our Help Article
Once the Closed Beta finishes we'll publish a Pitch Notes article summarising the feedback we've received from the community, the key themes that emerged, and the updates the development team is investigating. Your feedback throughout the Closed Beta will play an important role in shaping the final experience.
Help Shape EA SPORTS FC™ 27
Every one of your discussions helps us better understand how you experience the game and informs the decisions we make when building the future of EA SPORTS FC™.
Thanks again for your continued feedback. Stay tuned for more EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Deep Dives, and join the conversation to share your feedback with us on the EA SPORTS FC™ Discord
Join EA Play for just $0.99 for your first month, and play EA SPORTS FC™ 26 now. Plus, score Football Ultimate Team™ Draft Tokens and seasonal Clubs rewards. The EA SPORTS™ FC 27 early access trial drops September 18! Members can dive into all the game-winning, world-creating, an
Join EA Play for just $0.99 for your first month, and play EA SPORTS FC™ 26 now. Plus, score Football Ultimate Team™ Draft Tokens and seasonal Clubs rewards. The EA SPORTS™ FC 27 early access trial drops September 18!
Members can dive into all the game-winning, world-creating, and galaxy-defining moments with unlimited access to a collection of top EA titles from franchises like Battlefield™, The Sims™, STAR WARS™, and many more. Plus, unlock monthly rewards in the hottest EA titles and save 10% on EA digital purchases—including game downloads, points packs, and DLC.
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Your Club’s world just got a lot bigger. The Grounds is the most social way to play EA SPORTS FC™ 27, bringing up to 100 players together in a shared football playground, built around a central Terrace and three distinct districts inspired by football cultures around the world. A
Your Club’s world just got a lot bigger. The Grounds is the most social way to play EA SPORTS FC™ 27, bringing up to 100 players together in a shared football playground, built around a central Terrace and three distinct districts inspired by football cultures around the world.
Available on PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch™ 2, The Grounds lets you meet up with friends, take part in Small-sided football matches and Kickabouts in the park, connect with renowned football mentors, and experience everything this football playground has to offer. With Clubs at the heart of this evolving world, you and your Clubmates have more ways to connect, compete, and progress your Club.
The World
The Grounds is built around a central Terrace that connects three distinct districts, each shaped by different football cultures. From social spaces and in-world activities to Clubs and Stadium competition, each area offers different ways to explore, play, and connect with others.
The world will continue to evolve throughout the year through new seasons, campaigns, and live updates, introducing changes to its atmosphere, activities, rewards, and ways to play.
The Terrace
This is where every session begins. The Terrace connects all three districts, enabling you to go directly to the Clubhouse Entrance for instant Clubs access, check out information kiosks to learn more about The Grounds, and browse the latest content in The Grounds Store.
The Clubhouse
This is where the Clubs experience lives in EA SPORTS FC™ 27. Now part of an evolving world, the Clubs Stadium and Clubhouse entrance will update based on your Club customisation and identity.
Montclair
Montclair captures the energy of French urban football through its cage pitches and metropolitan setting.
Zeiza
Zeiza celebrates Argentina’s Potrero spirit, a fusion of European and Latin style architecture.
Parkside
Parkside captures the working-class football heritage of the UK.
11v11 Stadium Access
Home to 11v11 Drop-in.
Rush Stadium Access
Home to drop-in Rush experiences, including Ranked Rush and Rush Tournaments.
Mentors
Mentors will guide you through everything The Grounds has to offer, with each player having their own specialist area:
- Alex Hunter - Returns fromThe Journeyas your right-hand man, helping guide you through player improvement challenges inspired by his rise from prospect to champion. - Kylian Mbappe - Brings the influence of Bondy’s local pitches to football activities centred on Small-sided play, agility, and creativity. - Chloe Kelly - Draws on the culture of grassroots football in England through Kickabouts and other in-world activities built around creativity, freedom, and playing with friends. - Paulo Dybala - Draws on his move from Argentina to Europe through Clubs and Stadium events focused on teamwork, Club identity, and loyalty.
Ways to Play
Clubs Leagues and Playoffs
The Clubs experience now lives inside The Grounds, including the return of Leagues and Playoffs. Walk into your Clubhouse to jump straight into all of the ways to play in Clubs experience.
Clubs Live Tournaments
One of the biggest additions to Clubs in EA SPORTS FC™ 27 is the expansion of Live Events with Club Tournaments. These 11v11 competitions give you and your Clubmates another way to compete against other Clubs beyond Leagues and Playoffs. Tournament Events can feature different numbers of rounds, match rules, and rewards, helping keep the competition fresh throughout the year.
Club Tournaments can use House Rules to keep things fresh throughout the year:
Mystery Ball
King of the Hill
No Rules
Headers and Volleys
Survival
Long Range
Stadium Drop In
Stadium Drop In is a way for players to access matchmade Stadium features from the world of The Grounds including Stadium Rush, Rush Live Tournaments, and 11v11 Drop In. Accessing these modes will take you out of the world and into a classic matchmaking experience where you’ll be paired against players of a similar skill level.
Small-sided
Face off in competitive football across 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, and Rush matches on a variety of pitches throughout The Grounds. Matches last three minutes, with Rush offering an in-world version of the mode played on a dirt pitch, separate from the Rush Stadium experience.
For 1v1, both teams will have one CPU goalkeeper and one outfield player, while 2v2 and 3v3 will feature smaller goals and no goalkeepers. Score more goals than the opponent by the end of the time to win.
Battle for possession when the game begins as the ball is launched from the middle of the pitch. Shooting assistance is set to Manual and Passing Assistance is set to Fully Assisted with the rest of gameplay set the same as in regular 11v11 play.
Fouls are enabled and free kicks work as follows:
When a foul is made outside of the penalty area, the player fouled will have to shoot from the exact spot the foul was committed
When a foul is made inside of the penalty area, the player fouled will have to shoot from the designated penalty spot
Players will have to shoot during a Freekick, passing and dribbling is disabled
The rest of the players, teammates, and opponents will be positioned behind the Freekick taker and won't be able to get in front of the ball for a set time
If the foul is not taken before that time period, the Freekick taker and the rest of the players will be able to move freely again
Kickabouts
Kickabouts mix football with other sports like Dodgeball, Basketball, or Bocce Ball to introduce a variety of new ways to play both cooperatively and competitively.
Bocce Ball
Bocce Ball is a three-player free-for-all played over three one-minute rounds. Each round becomes more difficult as new obstacles are added and the route to each target becomes less direct.
The Pitch is split into two areas. Balls continuously spawn in the Player Zone, while the Gameplay Zone contains the Targets, rings, obstacles, and Dead Zones.
Score points by passing or shooting balls into Targets. After a ball lands inside a target, a timer begins. When it expires, the target splits into smaller Targets, progressing from Large to Medium and then Small.
Players earn points for each ball still inside the target when it splits. Balls in the centre earn bullseye points, while balls knocked out before the timer expires do not score.
You can also earn points by sending balls through rings, even if another ball knocks yours through. After three rounds, the player with the most points wins.
Team Keepaway is a 3v3 game played over one three-minute round on a medium-sized pitch surrounded by walls. The goal is to keep possession for as long as possible by passing the ball between teammates.
The game begins with the ball dropping in the center of the pitch and players fighting for possession. While on the ball, you’ll be able to perform any type of pass. While defending, you will be able to perform any type of tackle to recover the ball, but take care, as fouls will still be given.
The team with the most points when time expires wins. A team can also win immediately by taking a 1,000-point lead.
There are multiple ways to earn points in Team Keepaway:
If player holds the ball, 5 points will be given each second
If a player does a regular pass, 20 points will be given.
If a player does a first time pass, 40 points will be given.
If a player does 5 passes in a sequence, a multiplier will be applied for the next passes.
5 passes = x2
10 passes = x3
If a player intercepts a pass, 15 points will be given - whatever multiplier was being applied to the opponents team will be given as a bonus to the intercepting team.
If a player does a successful slide tackle, 20 points will be given.
If a player does a foul, 100 will be taken away as a penalty.
The Big Race
The Big Race is a four-player free-for-all set across a full-sized pitch. Play a total of three races in one track, with each track having a maximum of two minutes to be completed. The race is divided into three different obstacle variations of the same track.
Complete the full race and try to get as many points as possible in each track. The Big Race starts with all four players positioned on the start line with a ball at their feet.
Only dribbling is enabled, guiding the ball through a race track full of obstacles such as Gates to go between, Lava Floors to avoid, Moving Colliders to dodge, and Defender Zones to dribble through. Once the first player crosses the finish line in each track, the rest of the players will have 15 seconds to finish. The player with the most points at the end of the race wins.
Attacking Scenarios is a 2v2 competitive match on a medium-sized walled pitch. Consisting of four, one-minute long rounds, each round selects a random scenario from a pool of ten.
Starting with both teams on their end of the pitch, the scenario will be shown through a banner then added to the top of the screen before the ball is launched down the centre line and play begins.
For Attacking Scenarios there’s no goalkeeper, no fouls, no offsides or other similar rules. The only requirements that matter are those required in the current scenario. If a goal is scored but doesn't meet the current scenario's requirements, a new ball is launched back in immediately to continue play.
When a round's timer hits 0:00, the ball pops, ending the round and preventing post-round goals. The next round will begin immediately, starting with a new scenario. The team at the end of round four with the most points wins. If there’s a tie after the fourth round, a final fifth round will be played for one minute, using one of the two remaining unplayed scenarios. The first to score a goal wins.
See a breakdown of the scenarios and points system below:
Bronze
Dribble the ball in - 1 point
Score a first time shot - 1 point
Break a target when scoring - 1 point
Score off of a wall bounce - 1 point
Silver
Complete three passes before scoring - 2 points
Collect three balloons before scoring - 2 points
Score an aerial goal - 2 points
Gold
Score from inside a zone - 3 points
Score through one or more gates - 1 point per gate
Ball Hog - Hold the ball to generate points to score - up to 6 points
Bucket Ball
Bucket Ball is a team-based 2v2 game on a medium sized pitch. The game is three minutes long, with a one minute overtime period for tied games. If either team scores during overtime the game ends instantly with the scoring team as the winner, if there's still a tie at the end of overtime, the game ends in a draw.
The game begins with a ball being dropped into the middle and players positioned on either side of the pitch. Battle for possession to get the first chance to attack. Score by sending the ball through the opposition team's hoop using precision lob pass and spike.
There are 3 main types of shots:
Precision Lob Pass (performed using lob button)
Precision Header (performed using lob button while the ball is in the air)
Spikes (performed using shoot button while the ball is in the air)
Strategise with your teammate to try to score by either getting close to the hoop or taking a risk and shooting farther from the hoop. Higher jumps are activated with the shoot button to make it easier to perform a spike, or to defend
Once a team scores, kickoff starts from the side of the opposition team. In the event of a foul, a “free throw” is given to the fouled team. Once a free throw is granted, the fouled player has 10 seconds to shoot with a lob pass while the rest of the players are frozen. If the player doesn't take the shot in ten seconds, the game continues as usual. At the end of three minutes, the team with the highest score wins.
See a breakdown of the scenarios and points system below:
2 points for scoring during a free throw or scoring from inside the 3 pointer zone
3 points for scoring beyond the 3 pointer zone
2 bonus points are given for scoring with a spike (a total of 4)
Balloon Ball
Balloon Ball is a four-player free-for-all game on a medium pitch. Divided into three rounds, each round increases in difficulty based on the density of obstacles scattered around the pitch. Each player starts every round with three balloons attached and floating above their head. The last player standing with at least one balloon remaining wins the round.
Become the last player standing by popping all the opposition balloons while protecting your own. The game starts with all four players positioned at the four quarters of the pitch. Shoot the ball to pop other players’ balloons. Each hit pops one balloon and when all three are popped, the player is eliminated and teleported to the sideline to spectate.
A ball must be recently and forcefully kicked to pop balloons. A ball that has slowed to a crawl will cool off and not register hits. If the ball goes out of play, it’s automatically thrown back in after a short delay, launched toward the centre of the pitch.
As rounds progress, obstacles are progressively removed from the pitch, increasing the risk of being hit. At the end of each round, the last player standing earns the most points. All other players earn points based on their finishing position. The player with the highest cumulative score across all rounds wins the game.
A golden balloon power-up spawns periodically at a random position throughout the game. Collect the power-up by running into it or kicking the ball at it and gain one of three randomly allocated abilities:
Invincible
Become temporarily immune to balloon pops for a set time
Tyres
Tyres are fired toward opposition players, causing them to stumble or fall
Boomerang Ball
After hitting an opposition player, the ball automatically chains to every other player on the pitch in sequence before returning to the kicker
If a power-up is not collected within a set window, it disappears and a new one will spawn at a different location after a cooldown period.
With thirty seconds remaining in a round, Sudden Death activates, and the golden balloon power-up will turn red meaning it can no longer be collected. Every three seconds, a ball is fired directly at a random remaining player. All surviving players are highlighted with a red player glow and players can continue to kick the footballs at each other during this round.
See a breakdown of the scenarios and points system below:
Points are awarded at the end of each round based on finishing position:
1st place (last player standing): 250 points
2nd place: 150 points
3rd place: 75 points
4th place (first eliminated): 50 points
Goal Control
Goal Control is a 1v1 competitive game on a medium pitch. The pitch contains eight goals, set up differently across three, one-minute rounds. If scores are tied after the final round, sudden-death will be played.
Claim and control goals to outscore your opponent. At round start, all goals are neutral (white). Control a goal by scoring. Controlled goals change colour to match the owning player. Scoring into an opponent-controlled or neutral goal flips ownership immediately.
A Golden Goal modifier can be enabled for specific rounds, with a bonus awarded if one player controls all goals at the same time. If the ball leaves play, it’s thrown back in after a short delay.
See a breakdown of the scenarios and points system below:
1 point per second for each goal controlled
2 points per second per goal when all goals controlled simultaneously
Golden Goal score
As well as the goal that is scored in, the player is awarded Control of another 2 goals
Tie-break win condition:
First valid goal wins immediately
If no goal is scored the game ends in a draw
Drop Kick Targets
You can find Targets scattered across the football world. Spawn a ball on command and hit the target, managing shot power by timing the release of the kick.
Look out for weekly Objectives challenging you to search every corner of the world and break as many Targets as you can find to earn rewards!
There are several different Targets that can be found throughout the world
The Grounds will continue to evolve throughout the new season with Campaigns, and live updates. These updates can change the look and atmosphere of the world while introducing new activities, rewards, Store content, and ways to play.
Campaigns can also bring linked In-World Events to The Grounds, connecting different activities into a larger path of challenges and rewards. An event may begin with Kickabouts or Small-sided matches in one of the districts before leading into a larger competition at the Rush or 11v11 Stadium.
Events can feature different activities, requirements, match rules, and rewards, giving you new reasons to explore The Grounds and see how the world changes throughout the season.
Archetype Changes
Along with tuning updates across all existing Archetypes, we’ve made some changes to how you build, develop, and customize your player Archetypes in EA SPORTS FC™ 27.
First, all Archetypes are now unlocked by default, giving you immediate access to any Archetype right out the gate.
Customizing your player is also far more flexible. Archetype resets no longer cost Coins or a reset consumable, and you can now fine-tune individual attributes rather than being forced to reset your entire build at once.
You can make these adjustments seamlessly on the fly from the in-world menu, The Clubhouse, or directly inside Clubs and Rush lobbies.
Masteries
Masteries represent your long-term growth as a complete footballer. Every Archetype you develop leaves a lasting mark on your Pro. By reaching set milestones, you’ll unlock permanent Attribute boosts that carry across all of your builds.
For instance, reaching Level 10 with a Finisher Archetype unlocks +1 Finishing and +1 Composure to every archetype you use.
Masteries reward long-term progression. The more archetypes you master over time, the better your Pro becomes across the board.
Archetype
Attributes Boosted
Shot Stopper
GK Positioning, GK Reflexes
Sweeper Keeper
GK Handling, GK Diving
Progressor
Long Passing, Standing Tackle
Boss
Aggression, Strength
Marauder
Sliding Tackle, Sprint Speed
Disruptor
Stamina, Interceptions
Recycler
Def. Awareness, Short Passing
Maestro
Reactions, Ball Control
Creator
Free Kick Accuracy, Vision
Spark
Crossing, Dribbling
Magician
Curve, Acceleration
Finisher
Composure, Finishing
Target
Balance, Jumping
Amps
Amps are a new type of item that give you more control over how your Archetype performs on the pitch. When equipped, they add specific benefits to your active Archetype for a limited time.
There are four tiers of Amps, spread across two categories:
Standard Amps
Tier 1 - Attribute boosts
Tier 2 - Greater Attribute boosts
Signature Amps, inspired by football heroes and icons
Tier 3 - Greater Attribute boosts,PlayStyles and Perks
Tier 4 - Greater Attribute boosts, PlayStyles+ and Perks
You can equip up to three amps at a time, including two Standard Amps and one Signature Amp. Equipping an amp is simple, navigate to the Amps tab under Archetypes, select a slot, and choose an amp from your inventory.
Amps apply to all stadium matches as well as in-world Rush. Each Amp can be used for a set number of matches before it expires. Amps will be released throughout the FC 27’s live service, tying into specific Campaigns throughout the world.
You’ll have plenty of ways to earn Amps in The Grounds and Clubs through Objectives, Live Events, Campaigns, and season progression. Additional Amps will also be available from the Store.
Consumables
Consumables continue to provide ways to progress your Archetype outside of playing matches. The Grounds introduces new Consumable variations designed to help players who join later in the year catch up on Archetype progression.
New Archetype-targeted Consumables directly apply AXP to specific Archetypes. AXP multipliers will continue to apply across all Archetypes, while direct AXP boosts can be more focused. For example, one Consumable may apply AXP to any Archetype, another specifically to the Boss Archetype, and another to any Midfield Archetype.
Consumable level caps now also apply on an item-by-item basis. One Consumable may have a level cap of 25, while another may have a cap of 50. These caps will always remain within the global maximum level cap.
Consumables will continue to be earnable in The Grounds and Clubs through Objectives, Live Events, Campaigns, season progression, and the Store.
Club Objectives
New Club Objectives give you and your Clubmates more ways to progress together and earn unique rewards. Some objectives focus on shared achievements in Clubs, such as winning five League matches, while others will track your Club’s combined progress across different experiences, such as collectively winning 50 1v1 matches. This gives every Club member a way to contribute, even when you are not all playing together.
These objectives will be broken down into the following categories:
Club Milestones: long-term objectives to complete as a Club, earning fans to boost your Club reputation. These are broken into Bronze, Silver, Gold categories.
Club Weeklies and Seasonals: weekly and seasonal objectives to complete with Clubmates. Complete these objectives with your Clubmates to earn Amps, Consumables, and Coins.
Elite Objectives: special objectives for Clubs in Elite Division to earn extra rewards, giving clubs a reason to keep playing and earning once reaching Elite.
Customization
Showcase your Achievements and create your own football-inspired style through a range of Clothing and Accessories, including items from some of your favourite brands. You can customize your street and stadium looks separately to express your identity on and off the pitch.
You can assign up to eight Emotes to the Emote Wheel and trigger them to interact with others across The Grounds. Emotes are also used in the post-match rewards sequences in Kickabouts and Small-sided as celebrations.
Stores
You can find customization options, emotes, cosmetic bundles, and more in the various in-world stores throughout The Grounds.
All of the in-world Stores feature different customization outfits, attire, cosmetic bundles, accessories, and emotes, while the Menu Store is focused on Amps and Consumables. The Grounds Store – located in The Terrace – offers the full range of available cosmetic content, while the District Stores feature smaller selections that can include items inspired by their local identity.
The Grounds Store
Parkside Market
Boutique Montclair
Tienda Zeiza
Menu Store
Clubhouse
Season Pass
Play The Grounds and complete objectives to earn Season Points and unlock rewards including outfits, accessories, emotes, Amps, Consumables, and Coins. Upgrade to the Premium Pass for additional rewards as you progress through the seasonal reward track.
Thanks for checking out The Grounds Deep Dive. We can’t wait for you to step into the new world of The Grounds and experience everything this football playground has to offer when EA SPORTS FC™ 27 launches.
Stay tuned for more EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Deep Dives, and join the conversation to share your feedback with us on the EA SPORTS FC™ Discord
Step into The Grounds, a football playground where the streets meet the stadium. From Kickabouts and 1v1s to teaming up with friends in Clubs, connect with renowned football mentors, improve your abilities, and express yourself on and off the pitch. Pre-purchase EA SPORTS FC™ 27
Step into The Grounds, a football playground where the streets meet the stadium. From Kickabouts and 1v1s to teaming up with friends in Clubs, connect with renowned football mentors, improve your abilities, and express yourself on and off the pitch.
Pre-purchase EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Ultimate Plus Edition by 31 August to get up to 10,000 FC Points across 5 months, Seasons 1 to 5 of the Premium Pass, and more.
With EA SPORTS FC™ 27, you can immortalise your dream club with the all-new FUT™ Gallery, discover unique Holographic Player Items, shape Evolutions through branching Pathways, exchange with ease through streamlined SBCs, and more. Let’s jump into it. FUT Gallery In EA SPORTS FC™
With EA SPORTS FC™ 27, you can immortalise your dream club with the all-new FUT™ Gallery, discover unique Holographic Player Items, shape Evolutions through branching Pathways, exchange with ease through streamlined SBCs, and more.
In EA SPORTS FC™ 27, your Player Items will have a lasting legacy in your Club through the new FUT Gallery. You can create records of Player Items passing through your Club, whether it’s the striker who led your FUT Champions Finals run or that one winger you decided to move on from after a bad spell.
The FUT Gallery goes beyond recording memories, it also creates a path to earning rewards.
Most Player Items obtained through Packs, Transfer Market, Objectives, SBCs, and other Football Ultimate Team rewards can become part of your Gallery. Loan Items are not eligible, while Evolution Items are represented by the original base Item before it entered an Evo.
Even if an Item is no longer actively in your Club, for example, if you sold it on the Transfer Market or submitted it into an SBC, it can still contribute to Gallery Sets, helping you increase your Gallery Level and earn rewards.
Gallery Sets
The Gallery is built around Sets that focus on different themes such as Nations, Leagues, Clubs, and Campaigns.
For example, you might open a League Set and start filling it with Player Items you’ve earned throughout the season from that League. You can add Items manually to shape the Set yourself, or use an autocomplete feature to fill available slots more efficiently.
Set Grades
Completing a Gallery Set is only the beginning. Each Set you complete will receive a grade based on the Items added to it. Items have their own score value, and higher OVR or special versions of Player Items can contribute more to a Set’s overall score. Improving your Set grades will also help you earn rewards as you progress through your Gallery.
That means you can keep returning to your Sets and improving them throughout the season. You might start with regular Gold Items, then upgrade the same Set over time with Campaign Items, Heroes, ICONs, or Holographic versions.
Gallery Level
Every Set you complete and improve contributes towards your overall Gallery Level, creating another long-term progression path for your Club beyond just building your squad.
As your Gallery level increases, you will earn rewards tied to that progression.
Some Sets are focused around progression, while others are focused on showcasing Player Items that are especially meaningful to your Club. Custom Sets give you the freedom to highlight your favourite players and create displays built around themes that matter most to you.
Gallery Rewards
Rewards are earned by grading Sets and reaching Gallery milestones.
For grading Sets, you can earn cosmetics, Gallery Tokens, and other reward types, with higher Set grades unlocking additional rewards.
Gallery Tokens can be used in the Gallery Token Store, where you can choose from rewards inspired by fandom and Club identity. These can include Kits, Badges, and other rewards, alongside a brand-new class of historical Items called Hall of FUT. We’ll have more to share on Hall of FUT soon.
Gallery Level milestones can also offer larger rewards as you progress further, including opportunities to earn distinctive Holographic Items, which we will cover in more detail later in this Deep Dive.
The Gallery Token Store will evolve throughout the season, introducing new rewards and giving you more ways to decide what you want to earn next.
Tags
Looking for the highest grading isn’t just about finding higher-rated Players. Tags reward specific combinations of Player Items within a Set, giving you flexibility on how to improve your score and discover new ways to optimize your Gallery.
Tags are based on combinations of Item properties within the Set, such as including a required number of Gold Items, Campaign Items, or other specific Item types.
Gallery Hub
EA SPORTS FC™ 27 also introduces the Gallery Hub, a new environment that gives your Club a more visible presence. The Gallery Hub appears as the main Football Ultimate Team™ environment where you can see Player Items, favourite Sets, and other parts of your Club represented in the space around you (on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2 only).
For example, when viewing a Club Set, Items from that Set can appear in the environment. Favourite Sets can also help personalise your space, making your Club feel more visible as it grows.
3D Items
As your Club grows throughout the season, your Gallery should feel like it’s growing too. Player Items can now appear as 3D objects inside Football Ultimate Team™, allowing your space to reflect the evolution of your Club.
This helps give your Gallery a stronger sense of place. Early in the season, your space might reflect a growing Club built from Bronze, Silver, and Gold Items. Later in the season, as you earn Campaign Items, ICONs, Heroes, Holographic Items, and other special Items, the Gallery Hub can reflect that progression visually.
Holographic Items
Holographic Items are a rarer version of special Items. When an eligible special Item is available in a pack, a Holographic version of that same Item may also be available. Holographic Items feature premium presentation details and unique visuals that make them instantly stand out from their standard counterparts.
The player and their in-match Attributes remain the same. What makes a Holographic Item special is its rarity and visual presentation, giving you a new version of your favourite players to use in your squad, display in your Gallery, or find on the Transfer Market.
There are two Holographic Item types. Regular Holographic Items feature the standard animated foil effect, while Pristine Holographic Items add an even more premium look, including the player’s name displayed in a stylized font. Each eligible Player Item will only ever have one Holographic version, Regular or Pristine.
Because Holographic Items are rarer than their standard counterparts, they contribute more to your Set’s overall score.
Item Rarity
EA SPORTS FC™ 27 updates how base Item rarity works in Football Ultimate Team™. To simplify the experience and help distinguish new Holographic Items from their base versions, Bronze, Silver, and Gold Items will no longer appear as either Common or Rare. Instead, base Items will be classified simply as Bronze, Silver, or Gold. Our intention is for the overall Pack-opening experience to remain consistent year over year.
As a result, Packs will no longer state the minimum number of Rare Items guaranteed. For Packs that previously guaranteed Rare Player Items, the likelihood of receiving a base Player Item at OVR 82 and below (a threshold below which players could previously either be designated as Common or Rare) is intended to remain consistent with EA SPORTS FC™ 26.
As with previous titles, individual Player Items within the same OVR may have different odds of being received in a Pack. These updates are intended to maintain a consistent year-over-year Pack-opening experience while supporting a simpler Item rarity structure in EA SPORTS FC™ 27. Consult the in-game Pack Probability screen for each FUT Store Pack for Pack-specific details.
SBCs
SBCs have been a core part of Football Ultimate Team™ for almost a decade. In FC 27, we’re introducing a new way to complete them and make earning rewards faster and more intuitive.
Traditional SBCs often ask players to solve multiple requirements at once, such as Chemistry, position, or ratings. That depth can be fun, but for certain SBC types, like Player and Upgrade SBCs, we know players often want a faster path to the reward. The goal is not to remove meaningful decisions, but to reduce repetitive friction around completing them.
Streamlined SBCs simplify that experience. Instead of building a full squad around Chemistry, position, or a squad overall rating requirements, you’ll see eligible Items from your Club and select which ones you want to submit.
Each Item contributes a score based on its overall rating and rarity, using the same Item scoring system as the Gallery. As you submit Items, your SBC progress increases until the target score is reached. You can also submit multiple versions of the same Item, including duplicates, towards that score.
Streamlined SBCs also support partial progress. That means you do not need to complete the full requirement in a single submission. You can submit some Items, make progress towards the target, and come back later to complete it.
We also plan to make requirements more flexible by moving away from squad overall rating requirements.
For example, a Streamlined SBC for a Player of the Month Item might only require a total score, with each submitted Item needing to be 75 rated or higher. Other Streamlined SBCs may have no minimum OVR requirement at all, only a total score requirement.
That means it would be possible to complete the SBC by submitting more lower-rated Items, fewer higher-rated Items, or a mix of both.
The combination of simplified requirements, duplicate submission, and partial submission will make club and duplicate management significantly easier.
We’re excited to introduce the new Streamlined SBC format, which we plan to use across the majority of Player and Upgrade SBCs. We will also continue to support Traditional SBCs for more puzzle-like Challenge SBCs, while adjusting how we use both formats based on your feedback throughout the year.
Evolutions
Evolutions continue in EA SPORTS FC™ 27 with new updates designed to give you more choice and better planning tools. Two of the key additions are Pathways and Evolution Chain Preview.
Pathways
Pathways give Evolutions branching upgrade choices. Instead of every Evolution following one fixed path, some Evos can offer multiple upgrade options.
For example, one option might improve dribbling and add a PlayStyle such as Technical, while another might improve defensive awareness and add a PlayStyle like Jockey.
Not every Evolution will use Pathways. Traditional linear Evos will still exist but selected Evos can offer branching choices that let you shape the Item around your squad needs or PlayStyle.
Evolution Chain Preview
Many players like to plan their Evolution routes. Evolution Chain Preview helps bring more of that planning into Football Ultimate Team™ by letting you see how one Evolution can lead into the next before you commit.
Previously, you could preview how one Evo would affect a player before committing. In EA SPORTS FC™ 27, you can also preview potential Evolution Chains.
That means you can assess a player, preview them through one Evolution, and see which additional Evolutions may become available afterwards.
We know that many of you in the FC community like to plan your Evos carefully, especially when one upgrade can lead into another. With Evolution Chain Previews, we want to bring more of that planning directly into Football Ultimate Team™, and to make decision making a bit easier.
PlayStyles Lab
Following its introduction in EA SPORTS FC™ 26, the PlayStyle Lab returns to give you the flexibility to customize the PlayStyles on eligible items.
The PlayStyle Lab will be available as a recurring program in EA SPORTS FC™ 27, kicking off in Season 1.
We are making a few key updates to how the system functions this year. Eligible Items will feature a selection of pre-applied PlayStyles, allowing you to fine-tune a portion of the Item’s PlayStyles rather than starting from scratch. Additionally, the requirements for PlayStyles will vary, with some requiring more time or effort to acquire. These adjustments are designed to better maintain the unique characteristics of each Item while encouraging greater diversity in both squad building and on-pitch playstyles.
We’ve also heard your feedback about the balance of Evolutions compared to other ways of upgrading your squad in FUT. In EA SPORTS FC™ 27, we’ll be continuing to refine the balance between Items you upgrade through Evolutions and the Items you earn through the Transfer Market, Objectives, and other rewards. We’ll share more details on our plans in this space as we get closer to launch.
Campaigns & Live Content
The Campaign Hub is a new way to see what’s happening in Football Ultimate Team™. Football Ultimate Team™ Campaigns can feature new Objectives, SBCs, Evolutions, Gallery Sets, Live Events, and more.
The new Campaign Hub brings that information together in one place so you can better understand what is live and where to go next.
From the Campaign Hub, you can see what is available in the current Campaign, discover what rewards to earn next, and navigate to relevant content more quickly.
Single Player Live Events
EA SPORTS FC™ 27 expands Live Events with new single player options, giving you more ways to take part in themed FUT content against AI opponents.
Single Player Live Events can feature custom squads, unique rules, specific squad requirements, and opponents built around the theme of the event. Rather than feeling like a standard match against the CPU, each event is designed to feel distinct, with new opponents and Objectives to work through.
Some Single Player Live Events will unfold in a series of connected challenges, with each stage introducing something new. Earlier matches may offer selectable difficulties and more accessible requirements, while later stages can increase the challenge through stronger opponents, fixed difficulty levels, and more demanding squad requirements.
Players enjoy Football Ultimate Team™ in different ways. Single Player Live Events give players who prefer offline play a way to take part in themed events and progress at their own pace.
Themed AI Opponents
Because Single Player Live Events are played against AI opponents, the matchups can be built around specific themes. Events may feature squads tied to a Club, Campaign, tournament, or live content moment. Opponents could become stronger across rounds, use different Item types, or reflect the theme of the event.
For example, we can create Single Player Tournaments where you can try to recreate a winning run through the knockout stages, facing top Clubs from Leagues around the world with authentic custom tactics and squads.
Difficulty Options
Single Player Live Events can also support different difficulty structures. Some events may let you choose your difficulty while others may have set levels that increase as you progress.
For example, using that knockout tournament example from above, the opening round of the tournament may start on Semi-Pro, move to Professional, then World Class, and finish on Legendary in the final.
Item & Squad Upgrades
In EA SPORTS FC™ 27, we’re reshaping how Items improve throughout the season, with the goal of creating an even more balanced and satisfying squad progression journey and on-pitch experience.
Item Upgrades
When we think about Item upgrades in FUT, we want them to feel meaningful across the full year, giving players even more time to enjoy the Items they add to their Club before making the next upgrade. We also want Item upgrades throughout the season to preserve player identity and support balanced gameplay. For example, if attackers receive too many defensive upgrades, it can blur their role on the pitch and throw off the balance between attack and defence in gameplay.
In EA SPORTS FC™ 27, we’re building on what players value about Item upgrades with a connected set of changes across Item Attribute upgrades, PlayStyles, and Campaign pacing.
At launch, Player Items will have similar OVR and PlayStyle levels to FC 26. However, by the end of the season, we are intending for the scope of Attribute and PlayStyle upgrades between base items and final campaign Items to be meaningfully smaller compared to FC 26.
Last year, we introduced an initial step towards this vision. In FC 27, we're taking that further by introducing a series of additional changes designed to support the overall player experience.
To support this approach, we're reducing the maximum number of PlayStyle+ available on a single Item from five to three, alongside reducing the scale of Attribute upgrades throughout the year, with a particular focus on preserving the qualities that make each player unique.
We're also reducing the number of weeks that feature a Campaign Squad by approximately five across the year. During these periods, players can still expect a variety of live service content, but they won’t feature a new Campaign Squad, giving major Campaigns and their featured Items more opportunity to stand out.
Together, these changes are designed to give players more time to enjoy their squads for longer, make Campaigns feel more meaningful, and create more variety in both squad building and gameplay.
Squad Upgrades
Beyond individual Items, we’re also reshaping the wider squad upgrade journey so that it feels more consistent from starter squads to elite squads.
Our goal is to create a squad upgrade journey where the time and skill players put into playing EA SPORTS FC™ 27 consistently leads to meaningful improvements to their Club and enjoyable match experiences. We also hear from players that progression should feel balanced, with meaningful upgrades available during every stage of their journey.
In EA SPORTS FC™ 27, we’re adjusting how Player Items and upgrades are distributed across the year to create a more consistent upgrade journey.
The onboarding experience will continue to help players establish a starter squad quickly. However, in FC27 the progression through the earlier stages of squad building to establish a strong squad will require more engagement, while building an elite squad will become more achievable through continued play and skill.
To support this, we’re making coordinated balance changes across Campaigns, rewards, Evolutions, SBCs, and more. For example, we will reduce the average size of Campaign squads when it makes sense for the theme, while recognizing that some campaigns, such as Road to the Final, will still naturally include a larger pool of Clubs. We will also narrow the range of OVRs and Attributes within each release to help ensure each Campaign Item feels meaningful.
Together, these changes are designed to create a steadier squad upgrade journey across the year and strengthen the connection between how players invest their time and the progress they make with their Club.
Roles
Player feedback has shown us how much players value the ability to shape Items around their preferred tactics and PlayStyle. Some of the most popular Evolutions in EA SPORTS FC™ 26 were those that added Role+ or Role++ familiarity, giving players more flexibility in how they used Items across their squad.
Building on that feedback, all special Items released throughout the year in EA SPORTS FC™ 27 will receive Role++ familiarity across every role in their primary and secondary positions, giving players more freedom to shape their squad and tactics.
We have also seen that Roles can sometimes feel too strict in gameplay, so in FC 27 we are introducing Attacking Spatial Awareness to help players recognise open space more naturally and make more decisive runs in attack. This means players will be better able to take advantage of the space in front of them, rather than always sticking to their positions and Roles.
When combined with new ways to build up play through Triggered Curved Runs, Pass & Follow Runs, and Crossing into space, these improvements should create more flexibility in how you attack and lead to more variety in Formations and Roles across FC 27.
Check out the Gameplay Deep Dive Pitch Notes for more details on Attacking Spatial Awareness, improvements to Creative Runs, and Skill-Based Crossing.
Rewards
To support a steadier squad progression journey, we're changing how rewards are delivered so progress feels more immediate and flexible.
Currently, much of the rewards in Ultimate Team are concentrated in weekly mode rewards, Objectives, and other multi-match requirements, meaning players often need to complete several matches before receiving rewards. It can also mean earning fewer rewards overall by continuing to play in a preferred mode after weekly rewards have been completed.
Immediate Rewards - End of Match Rewards
In EA SPORTS FC™ 27, we're introducing End of Match Rewards as a major part of this work. At launch, we expect a portion of the rewards associated with weekly mode rewards and Live Event Objectives to move into Match Coins and SP earned after playing a match in select modes.
This provides a clearer sense of progression after every match, better connects the Seasonal Ladder to gameplay, and allows players to continue earning rewards in their preferred mode after completing their weekly rewards.
More Flexible Rewards
We're also increasing the share of earned rewards delivered through direct FUT Coins and tradeable packs across the mode. Whether players prefer progressing through matches, completing SBCs, or trading on the Transfer Market, this provides greater flexibility in how they build their Club.
Our reward design philosophy for FUT 27 is simple: more immediate rewards that support choice and experimentation.
Event Tokens
Event Tokens were introduced in EA SPORTS FC™ 26 during The World’s Game Update, and will continue to be part of Football Ultimate Team™ in EA SPORTS FC™ 27.
Tokens give you another way to progress through an event and work towards rewards of your choice across different game modes. In EA SPORTS FC™ 27, Tokens will return in various evergreen and event specific programs across the year.
With EA SPORTS FC™ 27 we’re expanding Football Ultimate Team™ to improve how you build and progress your Club, and we’re excited to see how your Gallery grows when we start rolling out our launch on 18 September 2026.
Stay tuned for more EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Deep Dives, including a Launch Update Pitch Notes where we will share more details about our Live Service plan for FUT closer to launch.
You can join the conversation to share your feedback with us on the EA SPORTS FC™ Discord
Build your dream Club like never before in Football Ultimate Team™ with the brand-new FUT™ Gallery, Hall of FUT™ Player Items, streamlined SBCs, and more. Pre-purchase EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Ultimate Plus Edition by 31 August to get up to 10,000 FC Points across 5 months, Seasons 1 to
Build your dream Club like never before in Football Ultimate Team™ with the brand-new FUT™ Gallery, Hall of FUT™ Player Items, streamlined SBCs, and more.
Pre-purchase EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Ultimate Plus Edition by 31 August to get up to 10,000 FC Points across 5 months, Seasons 1 to 5 of the Premium Pass, and more.
Welcome to the EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Career Mode Deep Dive. The Career Mode team is thrilled to share all the new features and improvements coming to FC 27. Let's dive in! Enjoy deeper immersion and more ways to play Manager and Player Career than ever before in EA SPORTS FC™ 27. Sign
Welcome to the EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Career Mode Deep Dive.
The Career Mode team is thrilled to share all the new features and improvements coming to FC 27. Let's dive in!
Enjoy deeper immersion and more ways to play Manager and Player Career than ever before in EA SPORTS FC™ 27. Sign your next star in Manager Career with a fully rebuilt Transfer Market that’s faster, smarter, and more dynamic than ever, build and share your own custom scenarios with Manager Live Creator Challenges, take on heated Rivalries in Player Career, and more.
Transfers
EA SPORTS FC™ 27 gives you one of the biggest Transfer Market upgrades in franchise history, with an overhaul that touches every part of the experience in Manager Career.
From smarter AI decision-making to new negotiation features, fresh cutscenes, and a more realistic transfer process, we’re making buying and selling players feel closer to real-world football.
At the heart of these changes is a new transfer system that reworks how negotiations unfold. Deals now progress through distinct stages, creating a more authentic flow while giving you greater control over every discussion. With a wider range of options and clauses available, there are more opportunities to shape negotiations in your favour, sweeten deals, and get the best possible outcome for your club.
The transfer interface has also been completely redesigned. The previous 3D negotiation scene has been replaced with an interactive 2D experience that makes it easier to navigate discussions, review details, and move deals forward efficiently. Additionally, a new player action list provides a central hub for managing your squad, tracking transfer targets, and making offers.
Enhanced by TransferRoom Values
To tie player valuations closer to real football, we've partnered with TransferRoom - the leading football transfer value platform used by football clubs to sign players - to develop a new valuation model for Manager Career informed by their market-leading Expected Transfer Value (xTV) system.
Player valuations now evolve throughout your career, adapting to changes in the market over multiple seasons rather than remaining static. The xTV system works alongside the existing adjusted value model, which adds value by taking factors such as player form and the strength of their league into account.
Together, these systems help ensure transfer fees and AI negotiations feel more believable and authentic.
Transfer Stages
Rather than being resolved in a single conversation, transfers now progress over time, with the time between each stage varying depending on the negotiation. With Transfer Stages, our goal is to create opportunities for unexpected twists, including transfer battles, hijack attempts, last-minute renegotiations, and other authentic scenarios.
When pursuing a new signing, the process begins with an enquiry. Whether you're looking to buy a player, arrange a loan, approach a free agent, or target someone nearing the end of their contract, you'll first need to gauge interest from the relevant club or player. After a short wait, you'll receive a response, which could open the door to negotiations or bring your pursuit to an end.
Negotiations can only begin once permission is granted, with discussions between the buying club, selling club, and player taking place in parallel. If you'd rather focus on other areas of club management, you can also delegate responsibility over to your Director of Football and allow them to negotiate on your behalf.
A new part of this process is that transfer negotiations can evolve even after an agreement is reached. Interest from rival clubs may lead to fresh demands from either the club or the player, forcing you back to the negotiating table before a deal can be fully completed.
The same staged approach applies when selling players. Offers from other clubs arrive over time, giving you the opportunity to evaluate interest and decide how to proceed. You can accept, reject, negotiate directly, or delegate discussions to your staff in pursuit of the best possible deal.
Once an agreement has been reached between clubs, the buying club and player will begin their own negotiations. As those talks conclude, you'll have one final opportunity to revisit the deal and push for improved terms. Whether that renegotiation succeeds depends on factors such as the level of interest from other clubs, adding another layer of strategy to the selling process.
By introducing multiple stages and allowing negotiations to evolve over time, our goal is for transfers to become more fluid, unpredictable, and reflective of the real-world football market. Every deal is now a journey, and successfully navigating that journey is key to building your squad.
Transfer Hub
To support the expanded transfer experience, the Transfer Hub has been refreshed and is now split into two dedicated areas: Scouting and Transfers.
By separating player discovery from transfer business, both areas become easier to navigate while providing more space for the information and actions that matter most.
Scouting is focused on helping you identify and evaluate talent. From here, you can review scout reports, manage your scouting network, and search for players across the football world, making it the central destination for planning your next move in the market.
Transfers is where those plans are put into action. The new Active Negotiations area provides a single place to manage incoming transfers, outgoing transfers, and contract renewals.
Every deal clearly communicates its current status, making it easy to understand where negotiations stand and what action is required next. A new Interest indicator also helps you assess how willing a player is to join your club, giving you an early sense of how challenging a deal may be. As negotiations progress, activity tasks are generated to guide you through each stage and ensure important updates don’t go unnoticed.
Managing transfer-related administration is also simpler than before. A dedicated Lists section brings together your Shortlist, Transfer List, Loan List, and Blocked Offers, making it easier to organise targets, track outgoing players, and control squad movement.
The new Contracts & Clauses area gives you a complete overview of your squad's contractual situation. Whether you're monitoring expiring deals, planning renewals, or reviewing existing agreements, all of the information you need is available in one place. You can also track transfer clauses, bonuses, and installment payments, helping you stay on top of future financial commitments and potential incoming revenue.
For those who like to keep an eye on the wider football world, Transfer History provides a season-long record of transfer activity across every club. Returning throughout the season allows you to follow major moves, spot emerging trends, and see how the market is evolving around you.
By creating a clear separation between Scouting and Transfers, the new hub delivers a smoother journey from identifying a target to completing a deal.
More Options and Clauses
Negotiations will now give you a wider range of tools to shape deals and manage your finances. Whether you're buying, selling, or renewing contracts, agreements can be structured around four key areas.
Deal Timing & Player Movement
You can decide exactly when a deal will take effect, choosing between an immediate move, the next transfer window, or the beginning of the following season. This gives you more control over when players join or leave your squad.
Loan-back agreements offer additional flexibility by allowing a newly signed player to remain at their current club for a period of time. This can be useful when you want a player to continue developing before joining your squad or when you need to keep a player until the end of the season.
Player exchanges also return, allowing you to include members of your squad as part of a transfer. This can reduce the cash required to complete a deal while helping you find new opportunities for players who may no longer fit your plans.
Financial Structure
Transfer fees are no longer limited to a single upfront payment. With installments, you can spread the cost of a transfer across multiple seasons, controlling how much is deferred and how many payments are used.
This can help you stretch your immediate budget and pursue players who might otherwise be out of reach, but those future payments will still need to be accounted for as you manage your finances across multiple seasons.
Achievement-based bonuses offer another way to structure a deal. Additional payments can be tied to club achievements, individual awards, or player performance, helping clubs bridge valuation gaps without committing the full amount upfront.
Future Transfer Rights
Several clauses now allow clubs to retain an interest in a player after they have been sold.
Buyback clauses give the selling club the option to bring a player back for an agreed fee. First refusal clauses allow them to match a future offer, while sell-on clauses provide a percentage of the fee if the player moves again.
These options can help you balance immediate squad decisions with the possibility that a player’s value or importance may change over time.
Player Contracts
The same level of flexibility extends to contract negotiations. Alongside wages, contract length, sign-on fees, and agent fees, you’ll agree on the player’s role within the squad.
Squad roles shape a player’s expectations around playing time, meaning the commitments you make during negotiations can have consequences if they are not met during the season.
Performance bonuses allow you to balance guaranteed wages with additional rewards tied to appearances, goals, assists, clean sheets, or other objectives. Players will evaluate these bonuses in relation to their overall earnings, helping create a more realistic balance between guaranteed and performance-based pay.
Contracts can also include clauses that respond to your club’s results. Automatic wage increases can be triggered by achievements such as promotion or qualification for continental competition, while automatic wage reductions can help protect your finances following a setback.
Release clauses also remain available, allowing a player to leave when another club meets the agreed fee.
Negotiation Screen
Every negotiation now takes place within a new interface designed to make transfers faster, clearer, and easier to manage. The new screen puts the focus firmly on the deal itself, helping you move through discussions more efficiently while still giving you full control over every detail.
From this screen, you'll negotiate directly with managers, players, and agents as you work towards an agreement. Throughout each conversation, the tension meter will give clear feedback on how negotiations are progressing. This gives you a real-time indication of how close both sides are to reaching an agreement, as well as how close talks are to breaking down. Knowing when to push for more and when to compromise is a key part of securing the best possible outcome.
If discussions aren't progressing as planned, you're no longer locked into them. You can walk away at any point to focus on other opportunities instead of spending time on deals that are unlikely to succeed.
The financial impact of every proposal is also presented more clearly. Transfer fees, installments, bonuses, and future obligations are all displayed within the negotiation screen, making it easier to manage your budget both now and in the seasons ahead.
By bringing important details together in a single streamlined experience, our goal is to make negotiations faster to navigate, easier to understand, and more strategically rewarding.
New Reveal Showcase
Completing a transfer is now a much bigger moment thanks to a brand-new player reveal showcase that replaces the previous grading system. Rather than immediately moving on after a deal is completed, you'll now get to experience the excitement of unveiling your latest signing and seeing how the football world reacts.
Once a transfer has been finalised, a dedicated reveal screen showcases the player at their new club alongside social media reactions from fans and pundits. These reactions are intended to bring transfers to life, giving you an instant sense of how your latest piece of business has been received and whether supporters are pleased.
For incoming signings, the reveal is tailored to the player's importance at your club. Smaller signings may be welcomed with a simple contract signing and media appearance, while marquee arrivals can receive a much grander introduction. The biggest names are unveiled with a stadium presentation.
Player Actions
We’re aiming to make managing players quicker and more intuitive with the introduction of the new Player Actions list. Available from multiple areas across the updated transfer and squad management experience, this centralised menu gives you immediate access to the actions you use most often, reducing the need to jump between different screens.
When viewing players outside your club, the Player Actions list makes it easier to move from scouting to recruitment. You can add players to your shortlist, request scouting reports, or publicly declare your interest to gauge how open they may be to joining your club. When you're ready to make your move, you can also begin the transfer process directly from the player's profile by enquiring about a permanent transfer, loan move, or future signing opportunity.
For players already at your club, the same menu provides quick access to key squad management decisions. Our aim is to have all of the transfer options you need close at hand. The menu also provides shortcuts to development plans and squad management tools, helping you make decisions about a player's future without unnecessary navigation.
AI Logic
Behind the scenes, we’ve made a range of AI improvements that aim to create the most realistic transfer behaviour we’ve had in Manager Career so far. These updates influence how clubs identify targets, spend money, and build their squads over multiple seasons, helping the Transfer Market feel more dynamic and believable throughout your Career.
One of the biggest changes is how clubs approach squad building.
Rather than focusing solely on immediate first-team improvements, AI clubs now make decisions based on their long-term philosophy. Teams that place a strong emphasis on youth development will dedicate a larger share of their transfer budget to younger prospects, while others may prioritise proven players who can strengthen the first team straight away. This helps clubs develop distinct recruitment identities that remain consistent over time.
AI recruitment has also become more sophisticated through parallel shortlists. Instead of pursuing a single target at a time, clubs can now work on multiple transfer priorities simultaneously, creating a more realistic market where teams are constantly evaluating alternatives, pursuing several players at once, and adapting when deals succeed or fall through.
Performance on the pitch plays a greater role in recruitment decisions too. AI clubs now take league statistics into account when identifying targets, including goals, assists, average ratings, and clean sheets. Players producing standout performances are more likely to attract interest from clubs around the world, creating a Transfer Market that better reflects what is happening during your Career.
Financial behaviour has also been refined to ensure clubs spend in a way that aligns with their real-world stature and philosophy. Rather than automatically exhausting every available budget, clubs now consider how important financial responsibility is to their identity before deciding how aggressively to spend.
Managers themselves will now have a greater influence on recruitment strategy.
Clubs are more likely to pursue players who fit the manager's preferred style of play, helping squads evolve in ways that support the football being played on the pitch. This means the same player may be highly desirable to one club while attracting little interest from another, depending on the tactical fit.
Transfer behaviour has also been adjusted to better reflect real-world football. Players who have only recently joined a new club are now far less likely to move again immediately, reducing unrealistic transfer activity.
Finally, clubs now recruit with future growth in mind. Rather than simply replacing players with others of a similar level, AI clubs actively pursue players who can raise the overall quality of the squad. This allows ambitious clubs to improve over time, creating more natural progression and helping the football world evolve throughout a long-term Career.
AI Club Relationships
Club relationships have been reworked in FC 27 and now play a much larger role in shaping transfer activity. Rather than evaluating every transfer opportunity in isolation, AI clubs now consider their relationship with one another when deciding whether a deal is likely to happen.
Historic rivalries have the strongest impact on transfer behaviour. Clubs with long-standing rivalries are now far less willing to do business with one another, making direct transfers between fierce competitors much rarer. Local derbies are treated similarly, with neighbouring rivals showing a strong reluctance to strengthen a club they compete against so closely.
Regional rivalries also influence decision-making, reducing the likelihood of deals between clubs whose histories and fanbases are deeply intertwined. While transfers can still happen in exceptional circumstances, they are no longer as common as they were previously.
The system also recognises major competitive relationships that may not be traditional rivalries but have become significant fixtures in modern football. Clubs that regularly compete for the same honours are less likely to transfer players, although these restrictions are generally less severe than those applied to established rivals.
Not every relationship creates barriers, however. Clubs that operate within the same multi-club ownership network are now more inclined to do business with one another, reflecting the close links that often exist between those organisations. This can lead to transfer activity that mirrors real-world pathways between affiliated clubs.
Additional Improvements
One area that we’ve done significant work on is player interest.
Players now consider a much broader range of factors when deciding whether a move is appealing. The relative stature of the two clubs involved plays an important role, as does the attractiveness of the destination league. A player's overall rating, career stage, current wages, remaining contract length, and opportunities to compete in continental competitions can all influence their willingness to move.
Players will also take personal circumstances into account.
Returning to their home country can increase their interest in a transfer, while financial considerations remain a key part of the decision-making process. This creates situations where a move may make perfect sense for one player but be far less appealing to another, even if the clubs involved are identical.
Club prestige has also been reworked to better reflect the realities of modern football. Rather than being driven primarily by a club's standing within its current league, prestige now takes reputation, history, and long-term expectations into account. With this, we intend to create more believable transfer decisions and help clubs maintain their identity over the course of a long-term Career.
The Transfer Market itself has become more active as a result of increased simulation activity. AI clubs are now involved in significantly more transfer business throughout the season, leading to a busier and more dynamic market with greater movement across leagues and competitions.
Deadline Day has also been updated, expanding the experience across twenty hours to provide more time for last-minute business. A new two-hour skip option sits alongside the existing one-hour advance, giving you greater control over how quickly you move through the drama of the final day.
Financial systems have been improved to create more realistic salary growth throughout a career. AI-controlled players now carry their wage progression with them as they move between clubs, helping contracts evolve more naturally over time rather than resetting unrealistically during transfers.
Player wage demands have been overhauled to better reflect the context of each negotiation. When joining a new club, players will consider factors such as the prestige gap between clubs and the financial strength of their potential destination. During contract renewals, demands are influenced by how much the player's overall rating has changed since signing their previous deal, as well as the club's financial standing. Career stage also plays a role, with emerging talents, players in their prime, and veterans all approaching negotiations differently.
The wider football ecosystem has been refined too. Free agents who remain without a club for an extended period will eventually retire, allowing older generations to naturally make way for emerging talent and helping the football world refresh itself over time.
Dynamic OVR
A player’s Overall Rating now reflects how they are actually performing this season, rather than feeling like a static measure of their ability.
Dynamic OVR completely overhauls player ratings in FC 27 Career, turning OVR into a number that can rise and fall throughout the season. Form, confidence, fitness, injuries, playing time, and competition for places can all influence how a player is currently rated.
Underlying ability still matters, but it is no longer the whole story. A player in strong form may perform above their usual level, while a difficult run, an injury, or limited opportunities can cause their rating to drop.
This is the largest change we have made to player ratings in Career, helping each season feel more responsive to what is happening on the pitch and within your squad.
Ability is only one part of a footballer’s story. Dynamic OVR reflects how factors such as fitness, momentum, Morale, opportunities, injuries, and your decisions as a manager affect how a player performs throughout the season. The same player can be in top form one month and struggle the next, despite no meaningful change to their underlying ability.
Dynamic OVR reflects a player's current ability state, whether that player belongs to your club or an AI-controlled team.
It is driven by three core pillars:
Form
Morale
Match Fitness
Strong performances, positive Morale, and effective squad management can increase a player's Dynamic OVR. Poor performances, Morale issues, injuries, and fitness concerns can reduce it.
Form
Form has been completely reworked and is no longer driven by a fixed boost value. Instead, Form now works towards a target Dynamic OVR determined by a player's current Form level and their long-term potential outlook, all anchored in the player’s performance.
This means two players performing at the same level may receive different boosts.
A player bursting onto the scene, with significant room to grow, can experience a larger increase than an established veteran operating much closer to their ceiling. We want to have a system that better reflects the realities of football, where emerging talents often experience dramatic rises in performance while established stars tend to deliver more consistent returns.
Form now influences the Attributes that matter most to a player's preferred positions. Rather than distributing boosts generically, the system focuses on Attributes that directly contribute to the player's role on the pitch.
Morale
Morale is no longer a background system used primarily for player interactions. It has been expanded to directly influence Dynamic OVR.
Things like playing time, squad roles, and expectations all matter when it comes to Morale.
Managers who balance the needs of their squad can build positive momentum throughout the dressing room. Those who neglect these relationships may see the consequences reflected in their players' Dynamic OVR.
We have also increased Morale volatility to better reflect the ups and downs of a demanding season. A player is no longer expected to remain emotionally static across a 60-match campaign.
Morale evolves throughout the season, becoming another factor managers must actively monitor. Every interaction can influence a player's Morale and, in turn, their Dynamic OVR. Strong performances can also boost Morale, creating positive momentum that carries over onto the pitch.
Match Fitness
Match Fitness is a new indicator designed to represent a player's readiness to start a match. To make room for this new system, we removed the previous Training Plan feature and corresponding settings, with the exception of the Energy Recovery setting.
Match Fitness combines the following:
Energy Level
Injury Status
Unlike Energy, which fluctuates continuously throughout a season and during matches, Match Fitness represents a player's physical condition at kick-off. Players are assigned a Match Fitness state ranging from Peak to Unfit, with each state carrying different implications for performance.
Match Fitness was introduced to separate long-term readiness and short-term stamina management to give managers a clearer picture of a player's condition before kickoff.
Instead of providing boosts, Match Fitness penalises players who are not physically prepared to perform at their best. This means Match Fitness must be actively maintained through squad rotation, recovery, and injury management.
Managers who consistently keep players at Peak Match Fitness will maximise the benefits of Dynamic OVR. Managers who ignore physical readiness may see player performance suffer, even if underlying ability remains unchanged.
Injuries and Reinjury Risk
We have rebalanced the injury system with authenticity in mind, with the goal of capturing the difficult decisions managers face when evaluating availability and risk.
Injury frequency for Authentic gameplay has been increased to better reflect the demands of modern professional football, where squad rotation and player availability often define the course of a season as much as tactics or transfers. Alongside this, we have redesigned injury variety and introduced a new injury structure designed around meaningful squad management rather than simple player availability. A player may be fit enough to play, but not fit enough to play safely.
Light injuries can now persist beyond matchday and become part of Match Fitness management. Managers can choose to feature players through these issues, but doing so introduces the possibility of aggravating the injury and triggering a more severe setback.
Medium and severe injuries have also been expanded through recovery periods that allow players to return before they are fully clear of risk. Similarly, we redesigned some of the severe injuries in our system to better reflect their potential impact, removing their Light states, and only keeping the most authentic severity tiers.
The objective isn't to simply increase injury frequency, but to create meaningful decisions for managers.
Do you risk playing your star striker in a title-decider? Do you rest an important defender before a major continental fixture? Do you protect a young prospect, or accelerate their development by giving them more minutes?
Injuries also affect Form and Morale to ensure recovery is no longer isolated from the wider Squad Management ecosystem.
Player Data
Growth Profiles
To further deepen authenticity around player development and replicate the variety of footballing career paths, we have introduced Growth Profiles, a new system determining player ability plateaus.
Historically, player development followed a relatively standardised trajectory. While players differed in quality, the underlying shape of their careers was often similar. Real football rarely works that way.
Some players break through early and peak young. Others continue improving into their late twenties. Some sustain elite performance for years. Others experience shorter peaks before declining. Growth Profiles are designed to reflect those differences.
Six distinct Growth Profiles have been introduced that govern how players develop, peak, and decline throughout their careers.
Each profile influences how different Attribute groups evolve over time, allowing players to follow development paths that better reflect real-world football careers.
This addition is intended to create greater variety between players, more authentic progression curves, and more meaningful long-term squad planning.
Squad Ranks
A new player evaluation system that applies to both existing club players and scouted ones will predict the impact any player has in your squad. The accuracy level is determined by your staff's knowledge, with coaches making the call for your own players and scouts for others.
Max Positions
Players will now have up to seven positions they can perform in. Additionally, we have reintroduced the dynamic determination of a player’s Baseline OVR based on the position they play in.
Players performing in any of their six secondary preferred positions will not be penalised for playing outside their main position. Players will also have their Dynamic OVR boosts for Form and Morale applied to the secondary position Baseline OVR, when set in such a position.
Development and Dynamic Potential
Dynamic OVR is directly connected to player development. Strong performances can create long-term benefits as players who consistently exceed expectations can raise their ceiling. Likewise, prolonged periods of poor Form can lead to a loss of development momentum. This creates a stronger relationship between performance and progression over time.
Development becomes something managers actively influence through their decisions rather than a separate system progressing independently in the background. Additionally, Dynamic Potential now applies to all AI teams in your selected Deeper Simulation leagues.
Potential Assessment and Coaching
Real-world managers can’t guarantee a player's ceiling. Instead, they rely on Coaches, Scouts, observation, data, and experience to estimate a player’s trajectory. Career Mode now reflects that reality.
Coaches no longer directly improve player Attributes but will contribute to understanding and projecting player Potential. Different Coaches provide different levels of assessment accuracy, with higher quality Coaches being more likely to correctly identify a player's true ceiling and lower quality Coaches potentially underestimating Potential.
This creates additional value around coaching decisions and reinforces Potential being discovered and developed over time. The Head Coach of each department is responsible for assessing the Potential of players within that group.
To support these changes, we have also streamlined coaching structures, reducing staff requirements to twelve Coaches split across Goalkeeping, Defence, Midfield and Attack.
Scouting, Transfers, and Squad Building
Dynamic OVR changes how managers evaluate players beyond their own squad, and how their scouting staff can impact this evaluation.
The players’ gradual Attribute reveal has been removed. While Attributes are instantly revealed, there are four stages of scouting that contribute specific information to complement the manager’s understanding of the Scout report:
Tactical Fit
Focused on performance and match ability
Future
Focused on potential and growth
Financial Assessment
Focused on assessing the player’s interest in a potential signing, and costs of supporting the move
Status
Focused on player happiness and likelihood of being interested in a move to your club
Scouting now surfaces more information about a player's current state, helping managers understand not only who a player is, but how they are currently performing. Form and Morale become important considerations when evaluating transfer targets.
Transfers become more dynamic as player value is influenced not only by long-term quality but also by current circumstances. A player enjoying an exceptional season may command a premium, while a player struggling for form may become undervalued despite possessing significant long-term quality.
This helps create a football ecosystem where performance, reputation, and value are more closely connected.
UI and Transparency
With Dynamic OVR sitting at the heart of Career, you’ll not only see rating changes but understand why they occur. Dynamic OVR breakdowns are surfaced throughout Team Management, Squad Hub, Development Plans, Scout Reports, and more.
You can see how Form, Morale, and Match Fitness contribute to Dynamic OVR and view Attribute breakdowns for visibility into how different systems influence player quality.
Creator Challenges
Manager Live Creator Challenges give you the tools to build, publish, and share your own Manager Career scenarios for the first time.
Using the new Creator Portal, you can create Challenges from your phone, tablet, or computer, then publish them directly to FC 27. Share them with friends, track how they perform, or see them featured in the Manager Live Hub for players around the world to discover.
We’re so excited to be doing this for the first time in Manager Career, and we can’t wait to see your challenges.
Build Your Own Challenges
The new Creator Portal transforms the internal tools used to create Manager Live Challenges in FC 26 into a new experience available through your web browser for FC 27.
To get started, head to the new My Challenges tab in Manager Live and scan the QR code to open the portal. From there, you can name and describe your Challenge, set Objectives, adjust restrictions, and shape the scenario you want players to take on.
Every Manager Career player can have at least 10 Creator Challenges published at once. Published Challenges can also be deleted at any time to make room for new creations.
Once you select Publish, your Challenge becomes available in EA SPORTS FC™ 27 and receives a unique Share Code that can be used across platforms.
Share and Play Creator Challenges
Every published Creator Challenge can be accessed using its Share Code, making it easy to send your creations to friends or the wider Manager Career community.
You can enter a Share Code directly in the Manager Live Hub to load a Challenge or share one with players in your EA Friends network from the Challenge Completion screen.
Creator Challenges are compatible across platforms, so players can share and access them regardless of where they play.
Discover Challenges
The Manager Live Hub has been expanded to support more EA-created and community-created Challenges.
The number of available tabs has increased from 15 to 30, while the number of Challenges shown in each tab has increased from 5 to 20.
You can use new sorting and filtering options to find featured Challenges based on leagues, countries, teams, and other preferences. Popular Challenges and creations from Career Mode content creators may also be highlighted in the Hub.
After completing a Creator Challenge, you can upvote it from the Challenge Completion screen. Highly upvoted Challenges may then be featured in the Manager Live Hub for more players to discover.
Manage Challenges
The My Challenges tab acts as the central hub for everything you publish.
From here, you can access, play, and share your Challenges while tracking how many times each one has been played and upvoted.
When one of your Challenges is selected to appear in the Manager Live Hub, a Featured banner will appear on its tile so you know it has reached the wider Manager Career community.
Community Moderation
Creator Challenges include reporting and moderation tools designed to help keep the Manager Live ecosystem safe.
Inappropriate content can be reported directly in-game and reviewed by our teams. Content can and will be removed when necessary, and creators whose Challenges are repeatedly reported and removed may lose access to creation tools.
You can also hide all Creator Challenge content from the Manager Live Hub if you prefer to focus only on FC development team-created Challenges.
Unexpected Events
Unexpected Events has been significantly expanded in EA SPORTS FC™ 27, introducing surprising player injuries and points deductions for financial mismanagement to bring a new layer of authenticity to your Career.
These situations can also have meaningful trickle-down effects depending on how they are handled or how lucky you may be. Deductions could be removed entirely or reduced by half, making Unexpected Events to become genuinely high-stakes moments in your Career.
Unexpected Events evolve across a Career, with each stage being triggered by your choices in the previous one. Your dressing room management may also be put under the microscope with internal conflicts, players arriving late for training, and more.
On top of all the new additions, existing events will be more varied with new descriptions and response options in scenarios you may have seen before.
Press Conferences
Unexpected Events are now supported by a reimagining of press conferences. Occurring less frequently but at more pivotal junctures, each press conference carries more weight than before. Your answers are directly connected to what's happening in your Career, reflecting your results, squad situation, and decisions.
Every press conference presents two options with no correct choice. Each answer will pull your managerial identity in a different direction. One answer might strengthen your relationship with the squad at the cost of an individual's confidence, while another might empower a player but create friction in the group.
Practice Arena
EA SPORTS FC™ 27 introduces the Practice Arena into Career Mode, right from the Central Hub. Play 11v11 Practice Matches with your starting 11 against reserves and put your tactical setups and tweaks to the test. Practice Matches will also inherit all of your settings including gameplay type and sliders.
Scenarios and Free Kicks are also available to give you a variety of options to master your play style.
Fundamentals
Deeper Simulation
Deeper Simulation is expanding to include both previous season and current season performance. This means you’ll be able to compare form, evaluate consistency, and make more informed decisions across all Deeper Simulation leagues and associated cup competitions in EA SPORTS FC™ 27.
The maximum number of leagues included has also increased from five to ten, giving you a broader football ecosystem to follow throughout your Career. This expansion provides a clearer view of how players and teams are performing over time, supporting better scouting, transfers, and squad planning.
New Transfer and Rumour Stories
New Social Media posts and overlays are now more relevant to your Career, highlighting rival moves, major budget decisions, profitable sales, free agent signings, and players linked to your shortlist. This makes the Transfer Market feel more alive and more connected to the decisions you make throughout your Career.
Existing Player Data for Generated Players
We’re turning a leaf from previous titles with the data inheritance of retired players, and its infusion over generated players. As such, generated players will have randomly generated data, rather than inheriting data from the replaced, retired players. However, the reference player’s potential will still play a part in the player generation system, so as to ensure the game’s talent distribution remains unaffected by players retiring.
Photofit integration
We’re bringing Photofit into Career as part of a wider cross-mode feature, allowing users to see their photo-based avatars across multiple areas of the game. This makes the Career Mode feel more personal and helps users feel more connected to the football journey they’re building.
Liga MX Induction
Mexico’s premier football league joins Manager Career and Player Career with official squads, clubs, kits, and its distinct competition structure featuring both Apertura and Clausura tournaments.
Mode Background Refresh
We’re updating the game mode background to make the experience more reactive, atmospheric, and visually engaging. For league-specific backgrounds, the visuals will continue to reflect the competition’s branding and identity.
Manager Customisation
You can shape your manager’s identity with new Full Tops, Outer Tops, and Inner Tops, organised into Sports, Casual, Classic, and Formal categories. New curated clothing combinations also bring multiple pieces together into one polished look to create styles that feel closer to real-life football fashion.
New Tutorial Setting
We understand how frustrating it can be when you’re trying to win trophies and the game keeps showing you tutorials you’ve already seen. In EA SPORTS FC™ 27, a new tutorial setting will be introduced that gives you more control over what appears.
You can keep all tutorials enabled if you’re new to Career, turn them off for future saves, or choose to only see tutorials for features introduced this year.
Youth Player Portrait Captures
We’re updating the youth player portrait captures system with a new lighting setup designed to improve overall presentation quality. The new captures provide a more natural and consistent look, helping youth players look more realistic and better integrated into the Career experience.
Youth Academy Tournaments Trophy
We’re giving the Youth Tournament trophy its own unique appearance.
Player Career - Rivalries
In Player Career, your performances will be measured against AI players. Fans will set you up for Rivalries against others, setting performance-based Objectives to be met. Your Rival is carefully selected based on your behaviour on the pitch and personal achievements accumulated in your current League.
You’ll face footballers playing in the same or similar role to yours but it won't always be a fair fight. Sometimes you’ll be challenged against a better Rival, while other times you’ll be a target for players who are trying to step up in their game.
Depending on your position, personal achievements, and time of the Season, different types of Objectives will be available for the Rivalries.
There are two main types of Rivalries Objectives:
Performing better than your Rival in certain areas within upcoming matches
For example: Whoever gets more assists in next 5 matches wins
Getting to a specific number of achievements before your opponent
For example: Whoever is first to score a hat-trick wins
Defeating Rivals rewards Personality Points that can be claimed when you are going to win the Rivalry, or when there’s going to be a tie. Inconclusive Rivalries will award you with a half of default rewards. Personality Points will be equally distributed among all types of Personality.
Your Rivalry continues off the pitch on Social Media as fans talk about your performance, taking sides with or against you.
Unique narratives will guide you through different stages of Rivalries as they unfold over time. Sometimes you’re the villain in someone else's story, other times you’re the hero. You never know what the next season will bring.
Authentic Gameplay 2.0
Alongside the Competitive Gameplay updates detailed in our Gameplay Deep Dive, we have continued to develop Authentic Gameplay to deliver more realistic movement, smarter CPU behaviour, and greater match variety.
Realistic Player Movement
Player movement has been tuned to feel more grounded and physical while remaining responsive. Touches, turns, and sprints carry a greater sense of weight, helping actions both on and off the ball feel more deliberate, especially when players are under pressure.
Evolved CPU Intelligence
CPU-controlled opponents now display more distinct playing styles, make smarter decisions, and use a wider range of tactical approaches.
Our goal is for teams and players to behave less predictably, creating matches that require you to adapt to different opponents and situations.
Enhanced Environmental Realism
Weather conditions now have a greater impact on the pitch. During wet or snowy matches, players may lose their footing when making sharp turns, adding another layer of unpredictability to movement.
Visible fatigue and emotional reactions have also been enhanced, better reflecting the players’ physical and mental state through their body language during the match.
Impactful Physical Play
Physical interactions have been updated to feel stronger and more varied. Shoulder challenges carry more impact, aerial duels are more contested, and players can stumble more often following contact.
CPU-controlled players will also commit more fouls, with the aim of making physical battles feel more authentic and giving set pieces a greater role across a match.
Authentic Gameplay & CPU Sliders
Authentic Gameplay 2.0 also introduces 25 new Gameplay Sliders and 10 new CPU Sliders, giving you more control over how matches look, feel, and play.
CPU Sliders are now separated into CPU Opponent and CPU Teammate categories. This gives you even greater control in modes where you lock to a single player, such as Player Career, allowing you to independently adjust the behaviour of your teammates and opposition.
We’re so excited to bring you these new features to Career and Authentic Gameplay in EA SPORTS FC™ 27, and we can’t wait to play your Manager Live Creator Challenges when Early Access begins on 18 September 2026.
Stay tuned for more EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Deep Dives, and join the conversation to share your feedback with us on the EA SPORTS FC™ Discord
EA SPORTS FC™ 27 introduces a rebuilt Transfer Market, Dynamic OVRs, Manager Live Creator Challenges, and more. Pre-purchase EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Ultimate Plus Edition by 31 August to get up to 10,000 FC Points across 5 months, Seasons 1 to 5 of the Premium Pass, and more. View game
EA SPORTS FC™ 27 introduces a rebuilt Transfer Market, Dynamic OVRs, Manager Live Creator Challenges, and more.
Pre-purchase EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Ultimate Plus Edition by 31 August to get up to 10,000 FC Points across 5 months, Seasons 1 to 5 of the Premium Pass, and more.
Welcome to the EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Gameplay Deep Dive. My name is Gilliard Lopes, Principal Gameplay Designer for EA SPORTS FC™. On behalf of our entire team, I am thrilled to share the new Gameplay features and improvements coming to FC 27. Let's dive in! Across every game mode, gr
Welcome to the EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Gameplay Deep Dive.
My name is Gilliard Lopes, Principal Gameplay Designer for EA SPORTS FC™. On behalf of our entire team, I am thrilled to share the new Gameplay features and improvements coming to FC 27. Let's dive in!
Across every game mode, greater gameplay control is at the heart of EA SPORTS FC™ 27.
Community feedback consistently highlighted a desire for less automation and greater control over key moments, so we've made a series of gameplay updates that reward player skill and decision-making on the pitch.
EA SPORTS FC™ 27 creates more opportunities for you to be the difference. That means you will be able to experience more manual defending, smarter attacking movement, and more attacking variety from corner kicks and crosses, all of which have been driven by your feedback.
Defending
AI Defending (Auto-Tackles)
The following changes to AI Defending only apply to Competitive gameplay. For more information about changes to Authentic Gameplay, stay tuned for our Career Mode Deep Dive coming soon.
One of the most significant gameplay shifts in FC 27 is to AI Defending. We’re reducing the influence of AI-controlled defenders, putting more power into the hands of the manual defender.
Previously, AI-controlled defenders could automatically attempt to win the ball when a dribbler came close enough to them. In FC 27, defenders will now rely more on their positioning and support the play until you take control and choose when to make a tackle.
AI-controlled defenders can still gain possession when a loose ball comes within reach or when a dribbler runs directly into them. In some cases, the trapping animation may involve the defender extending a leg, but the defender is reacting to the ball rather than initiating a tackle.
With this change, we want tackling to be an intentional player-led action, while your AI teammates will now support the play instead of winning possession outright for you.
We’ve also reduced AI defensive reach for interceptions. A manually-controlled defender will be able to reach further than an AI-controlled defender, encouraging you to switch to the player actively defending instead of relying on AI teammates to win possession.
AI defenders will now play more of a supporting role through their on-pitch positioning, giving you more opportunities to step in and defend manually.
Reducing the impact of AI defending is only one part of the defensive changes coming in FC 27. Improving the effectiveness of manual defending is the other crucial piece we’re focusing on in order to create more rewarding defensive experiences.
In FC 27, manually-controlled defenders have increased jockey speed compared to FC 26, helping them keep up with quick attacking movements more effectively. Additionally, we’ve also increased the range of manually-triggered stand tackles compared to FC 26. We want to better reward you for reading the dribbler, switching to the optimal defender, and positioning yourself well so you feel more capable of winning the ball.
Our goal with this game is for players who manually switch, jockey, time tackles, and position themselves effectively to increase their chances of winning possession. These improvements put greater emphasis on manual defending and the decisions you make throughout a match – which is something we aim to preserve throughout the FC 27 life cycle.
Teammate Contain has also been adjusted to match our new approach to defending.
When performing Teammate Contain, AI teammates will mark the ball carrier from a slightly longer distance than before, requiring the user to switch to them and manually defend if they want to press the dribbler more effectively.
Corners in FC 27 are designed to give you more control over the moments before the ball arrives in the box. Previously, players had fewer ways to influence direct deliveries, which meant many opted to take corners short instead.
After targeting your desired area for delivery, the camera will shift towards the box, giving you a brief window to control attacking players. During this window, you can move, switch players, make runs, shield, or use a new mechanic called Avoidance (more details below) to jostle for position before the ball arrives in the box.
Note that this change does not apply to short corner kicks. After a short corner kick is taken, you will revert back to your gameplay camera of choice.
Free Movement and Positioning
In FC 27, players contesting for corner kicks in the box will no longer automatically move into the best position to connect with the ball.
It’s up to you to time the run, attack the space, and make first contact manually. Not reaching the right position could mean the ball evades everyone, but when executed well, the outcome is intended to feel more rewarding and result in more varied finishes as players try to make contact with the ball.
During the window before a ball is delivered, attackers can manually trigger a new mechanic called Avoidance. This allows any attacker or defender you control to become more evasive, moving through crowded areas without getting blocked by opposing players. To trigger Avoidance during Corner Kicks
Hold R1 || Hold RB
Pairing this with Shielding allows an attacking player to hold their position after creating space and prevent opponents from stepping in front, creating more attacking opportunities from corner kicks.
We’re also adding more crossing control in FC 27. Previously, crosses had more predictable trajectories and similar finishing animations because they were heavily assisted.
Crosses will now be delivered into space more often rather than directly onto a specific player, allowing for more attacking variety.
Your aim and power now have a much bigger impact on where your cross lands, meaning it can miss everyone if it isn’t placed with precision. When darting down the wing and identifying space, we want success to be more about your ability to aim and play the ball in front of your teammate, rather than locking onto their current position.
These updates enable more variety when heading and finishing from both corner kicks and crosses. We want the battle for ball contact to become more skill-based and lead to more authentic outcomes. We expect that attackers may need to stretch, dive, adjust their run, or attack the ball from different angles, resulting in a wider range of finishing possibilities.
In FC 27, connecting with a header from crosses and corners requires greater precision, making clean headers less frequent. The tradeoff is that when you do make clean contact, headers are more accurate than in FC 26 and feel more rewarding.
Attacking Spatial Awareness and Creative Runs
Attacking Spatial Awareness OurupdatedAttacking Spatial Awareness makes AI attackers more aware of the space around them and how they move into it. Previously, some attacking movements could feel too predictable, with players not always reacting quickly to developing attacks or moving with the right level of urgency. In certain situations, attackers would also run into crowded areas or struggle to find more effective space. In FC 27, they now make smarter, more contextual curved runs that better support each attacking move.
EA SPORTS FC™ 27 introduces new manually triggered run options designed to give you more control over off-ball movement.
While a regular triggered run sends the player forward in a direct path, the new Triggered Curved Runs allow them to curve their movement into open space, giving you a dynamic way to bend around defenders and get behind the opposition. The trade-off is that these runs may take longer to complete because of the longer and more curved path they follow. To perform Triggered Curve Runs
Similarly to the existing Pass & Go, new Pass & Follow Runs are made by a player who has just passed the ball to a teammate. The passer will then follow with a curved run to exploit available space, choosing to overlap or cut inside depending on the situation. Again, the trade-off is that these runs may take longer to complete due to their curved pathing. To perform Pass & Follow Runs
Both new run types are influenced by available space. Rather than continuing straight up the pitch or moving into crowded areas, players will look to curve their runs toward more effective attacking positions.
Limited Distance for Manually Triggered Runs
Another important change is that manually triggered runs will no longer continue indefinitely. Previously you could trigger a run while close to a player, move the ball a long distance away, and rely on that player to continue their run indefinitely. This sometimes caused inauthentic attacking situations.
In EA SPORTS FC™ 27, manually triggered runs only continue for a limited distance, with the player then stopping and returning to occupy space or fulfill their positional responsibilities. If you want the player to continue their run, you can always trigger the command again but only if you keep playing within the range of the running player.
The goal of this change is to make attacking actions feel more intentional, reducing unrealistic situations while giving you greater control over your teammates’ movement.
In FC 27, we are also improving attacking runs that happen without a manual trigger, taking into account available space, defensive positioning, and the offside line.
For example, a winger may run parallel to the defensive line while waiting for a pass. Once the pass is made, they can curve forward into the box because they no longer need to avoid being offside. This helps attacking movement feel less limited to the player's role, more flexible, and more authentic .
As we mentioned previously, all of these changes are aimed at making attacking movement more intentional. You will still have powerful tools to create runs, but you will need to manage those runs more actively. If you want a run to continue, you'll need to actively trigger it again rather than relying on an unlimited triggered run.
Passing Updates
Through Passes Update
In FC 27, ground and lobbed through passes no longer heavily assist you by steering toward open lanes away from your aim. Passes now strictly follow your directional input, rewarding deliberate aim on attack and giving manual defenders a fair chance to read the play and intercept.
In FC 27, we have moved both ground and through Dinked Passes to a fully manual system. Success now relies heavily on your individual precision with aiming and power, raising the skill ceiling for these specific pass types. This adjustment aims to ensure that attacking creativity and defensive anticipation are more evenly matched when utilizing these refined passing mechanics.
Off-Balance Dribbling
In FC 27, the world’s best dribblers can now ride challenges and maintain control under pressure through off-balance dribbling. Driven by Balance, Agility and Dribbling Attributes, this allows certain players to continue dribbling even when they are knocked off balance.
When a dribbler who has the required Attributes is hit by a collision, bump, or shoulder challenge, they will enter an off-balance dribbling animation. During this animation, the player looks like they are stumbling, but you will still have control and can continue moving the player as they take a dribble touch in the chosen direction to keep possession.
Please note that this feature will only be available on PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch™ 2.
PlayStyles and Attributes
We heard your feedback about how certain PlayStyles could feel too impactful in certain situations. Our goal for FC 27 is to refine the balance between PlayStyles and Attributes so that both have a meaningful impact on player performance without feeling overpowered.
Here are all the PlayStyle updates coming in EA SPORTS FC™ 27:
Finesse Shot
We’ve updated Finesse Shot to make player attributes play a bigger role in shot outcome
Spin, animation speed and off-angle effectiveness now scale more consistently based on the player taking the shot, reducing the gap between base attributes, Finesse Shot, and Finesse Shot+.
Technical Dribbler
Reduced the performance gap between PlayStyle and PlayStyle+
Playstyle+ still offers smoother and more responsive dribbling, but the difference between PlayStyle+ and PlayStyle is now less pronounced to create better balance between tiers.
Intercept
Increased reach and improved chances of retaining possession of the ball when performing an interception for Non-PlayStyle players who have a high Interceptions Attribute
Results in the reduction in the performance gap between PlayStyles and Attributes.
Rapid
Slightly reduced the speed boost to dribbling animations provided by the PlayStyle and PlayStyle+
Animation speed for non-Playstyle players remains unchanged, resulting in a smaller gap in animation speed between non-PlayStyle and PlayStyle players
Quick Step
Reduced the speed boost applied during dribbling and accelerating for PlayStyle and PlayStyle+ to create better balance between tiers
This gives more importance to the Acceleration attribute
Pinged Pass
Removed the effect that slightly reduced trap error on the pass receiver
This change ensures that the PlayStyle primarily enhances pass delivery rather than providing an additional first-touch advantage to an unrelated player
Tiki Taka
Removed the animation playback speed boost and the effect that slightly reduced trap error on the pass receiver
This refocuses the PlayStyle on quick combination play without disproportionately improving first-touch control
Jockey
Increased jockey sprint acceleration for non-PlayStyle players and reduced the sprint acceleration boost applied when exiting Jockey for both the PlayStyle and PlayStyle+
Both these changes reduce the gap between PlayStyles and base attributes
Precision Header
Reduced the gap between PlayStyle and PlayStyle+ by rebalancing the boost in accuracy granted by this PlayStyle
Low Driven
Removed the shot speed boost previously applied to low-driven shots
Shot velocity now scales purely based on core shooting Attributes and input power, for more consistent and attribute-driven results
The Playstyle and PlayStyle+ still add an accuracy boost
In FC 27 we’re introducing more control and expressive gameplay, giving you greater influence over attacking and defending. Whether you're winning the ball through manual defending, opening up a back line with smarter movement, or scoring a diving header from a corner kick, we want every match to offer more variety and skill-based outcomes on the pitch.
We can’t wait to see how you master these new gameplay features when EA SPORTS FC™ 27 starts rolling out on 18 September 2026 and look forward to seeing you on the pitch.
Feel more control across every game mode in EA SPORTS FC™ 27 through manual defending, smarter attacking movement, and more. See the new latest community-driven gameplay innovations coming to EA SPORTS FC™ 27. Pre-purchase EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Ultimate Plus Edition by 31 August to ge
Feel more control across every game mode in EA SPORTS FC™ 27 through manual defending, smarter attacking movement, and more. See the new latest community-driven gameplay innovations coming to EA SPORTS FC™ 27.
Pre-purchase EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Ultimate Plus Edition by 31 August to get up to 10,000 FC Points across 5 months, Seasons 1 to 5 of the Premium Pass, and more.
Celebrate an unforgettable season with brand-new FUTTIES Player Items alongside the return of standout Player Items from across the Football Ultimate Team™ season.
Celebrate an unforgettable season with brand-new FUTTIES Player Items alongside the return of standout Player Items from across the Football Ultimate Team™ season.
Welcome to The World’s Game. Step into The Grounds to experience a football playground where the streets meet the stadium, and feel greater control in every mode as community-driven innovations deliver more true-to-football gameplay. Pre-purchase EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Ultimate Plus Ed
Welcome to The World’s Game. Step into The Grounds to experience a football playground where the streets meet the stadium, and feel greater control in every mode as community-driven innovations deliver more true-to-football gameplay.
Pre-purchase EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Ultimate Plus Edition by 31 August to receive 10,000 FC Points across 5 months, Seasons 1 to 5 of the Premium Pass, a Football Ultimate Team™ Player Evolution for EA SPORTS FC™ 26, and more.
