EA just unveiled the cover of its upcoming football simulation game EA Sports FC 24 Ultimate Edition, featuring some of the sport’s biggest players alongside legends of the past. It is worth noting that the star-studded cover looks a little odd, with the players’ faces appearing poorly rendered and as if they’re trying to mask their pain. The studio also dropped an announcement trailer for the same, voiced by Oscar-winning actor Daniel Kaluuya (Nope), showing a cinematic rendered fully in the Frostbite Engine. Formerly known as FIFA, EA Sports FC marks the next big chapter for EA, as it prepares for an official look this week, set for July 13, which will ideally detail all the new features and pricing information.
As you might have expected, the internet has already begun making memes out of EA Sports FC 24’s cover image, specifically targeting the models of the Brazilian legend Ronaldinho and Arsenal FC’s Bukayo Saka for least resembling their real-life counterparts — which doesn’t make sense because EA had previously nailed the facial appearance of the former, in past FIFA games. Meanwhile, the Italian maestro Andrea Pirlo looks as if he’s traumatised, staring off into the distance with big, round eyes. The trailer sets the stage for a new era, giving a first look at some of the player models as they josh around in the locker rooms. Key standouts include David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane, Virgil van Dijk, and a glimpse at the women’s division, with Chelsea FC’s Sam Kerr taking centre stage. In FIFA 23’s Ultimate Edition, she was also featured as the cover athlete alongside Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappé.
Rumours from earlier this month suggested that EA Sports FC 24’s Standard Edition would feature Manchester City striker Erling Haaland as the cover athlete, though the legitimacy of it can only be verified on July 13, which is when the official reveal is set. That said, the source also alluded that the Ultimate Edition would feature a bunch of footballing stars — guess they were right about that one. Another report suggested that the game was targeting a September 29 release date, adding that the Ultimate Edition would grant seven days’ worth of early access — a massive upgrade compared to the three-day period buyers got for FIFA 23. File sizes for the closed beta were also revealed by an Xbox data miner, alluding to 41.57GB on the Xbox Series X and 39.23GB on the Xbox One.
Here’s a reminder for the brand name change: EA Sports got into a financial disagreement with the FIFA federation, with the latter allegedly demanding over $1 billion (about Rs. 8,242 crore) every four years to let them use the ‘FIFA’ moniker. EA CEO Andrew Wilson then rejected those demands, claiming that the only value the publisher ever got from the license was the “four letters on the box.” Back in April, a new logo was revealed, with ‘EA Sports FC’ spelt out to resemble the upside-down triangle that you’d see floating on top of the in-game players’ heads. EA Sports also announced UFC 5, earlier this week, with a full reveal slated for September.
If the reports are to be believed, EA Sports FC 24 will be out September 29, across PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, and Nintendo Switch. The publisher will host a live stream on July 13, at 10pm IST, to reveal more about the game.
