EA sport’s long-standing soccer series ‘FIFA’ is on the brink of a new age as Electronic Arts has just revealed the launch date for the revamped football franchise. On September 29, 2023, EA Sports FC 24 will be available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
The rebranding comes as a result of EA’s relationship with FIFA ending after FIFA 23. With the new look game, internet rumors suggested the game would now cost $80 on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, but this has been dismissed by EA as not true.
EA Sports FC 24 will remain $70 on both consoles, while players playing on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One will also have to pay that much too. EA has promoted and dubbed this decision as a “dual entitlement” cross-generation title. EA Sports FC 24 will also cost $70 on PC, while on Nintendo Switch it will retail at $60.
This year’s Ultimate Edition will cost $100 and is set to include seven days of early access, as well as Ultimate Team perks and 4,600 FC points. It is also worth mentioning that those who buy the standard version of the game won’t have access to the ‘Ultimate Team Campaign mode’, but will still be able to enjoy the regular Ultimate Team mode.
EA has assured fans that it won’t withhold any players from either version of the popular game mode. Also, for the first time ever EA will include female players in Ultimate Team, which means that both sexes can now play with or against each other on the same pitch.
With the announcement of the release date and platform pricing, EA also showcased some substantial gameplay footage as well as some of the game’s new features. EA Sports FC 24 will feature two new women’s leagues, Spain’s Liga F and Germany’s Frauen-Bundesliga, the top level of competition in both countries.
For Electronic Arts, a recent focus has been on strengthening relationships with the various leagues and organizations, to ensure the series remains as true to life as possible. Subsequently, EA Sports FC 24 will feature over 19,000 official players, more than 30 leagues, and over 100 real-life stadiums.
EA has also acquired exclusive deals with both the English Premier League and UEFA to license their brands and competitions such as the Champions League. The Frostbite engine will still be used, with EA saying it is an enhanced and more comprehensive version than ever before. This will also be the first version of the franchise to feature Frostbite on Switch.
The ‘HyperMotion’ tech system is also said to have been upgraded as well. HyperMotionV will be incorporated on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC versions of the game and will tap into volumetric data from almost 200 top-level men’s and women’s matches.
This improved system aims to unlock hyper-realistic full-team movement and over 1,000 signature run styles, so players will experience the distinct ways certain top players move with more realism than ever before.
‘PlayStyles’ is yet another new feature that uses real-world data from Opta and other sources to make players feel even more distinctive. EA hopes that this will have a great impact on gameplay and matches, and give players more distinct capabilities.
Crossplay will also be readily accessible between PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, with the same option available between PS4 and Xbox One. For the first time, the Clubs, Co-Op Season, Volta Football, and Ultimate Team Co-Op modes will also be supported by crossplay. Unfortunately for Nintendo Switch players, the Switch version of EA Sports FC 24 will not include crossplay.
