Gameplay, release date, and Founders status revealed for EA Sports FC 24

EA Sports FC 24 is the latest installment in what was known as the FIFA series. The actual Fédération Internationale de Football Association got greedy and EA didn't want to be held hostage to their royalty demands and the outcome is the new moniker. So where will this newfound freedom from FIFA take us? From the press release - "unparallelled realism":

• HyperMotionV is our biggest leap forward in realism to-date, translating the rhythm and fluidity of real-world football into The World’s Game using volumetric data from more than 180 professional men’s and women’s football matches that allows us to reflect real-world movement in-game more than ever before.
• PlayStyles optimised by Opta dimensionalises athletes, going beyond overall ratings to bring to life the on-pitch abilities that make players special. Each PlayStyle gives players unique capabilities you’ll see and feel that make their way of playing more authentic.
• An enhanced Frostbite™ Engine delivers The World’s Game in lifelike detail, bringing a new level of immersion through redesigned player models, smoother animations and visibly unique characteristics that make each player special. Kits now move like real-world materials, reacting to a player’s stride, shifting as they change direction, and flowing along with them as they play.

Basically, they gonna try to make the graphics look more prettier, make the players move more better, and make star players more personailty-ier. Also, men and women get to share the same pitch in Ultimate Team and Erling Haaland is going to grace the cover. 

I think the real question on the mind of most players is "is it in the game?" As in, will the change from FIFA to EA FC effect any of the licensed players or teams. My expectation from the start was... no, it shouldn't. FIFA run the World Cup. That's about it. They also run some other piddly exhibitions no one cares about. So without the FIFA licensing the World Cup will not be in the game. Now of course there will be some generic Globo Tournament in things like career mode as a placeholder, a far cry from the fanfare of previous titles' celebration of the World Cup, but the rest of the game should be intact. Player likeness are likely licenced through something like FIFPRO, not FIFA. Individual leagues and teams can license themselves respectively, and the confederations under FIFA that represent the various continents have the rights to their own tournament holdings. The English Premiere League, Spanish La Liga, the German Bundesliga, the Italian Serie A, MLS, Conembol Libertadores, and others are all already on board. UEFA have also signed on bringing the Champions League, Women's Champions League, Europa League, Europa Conference League, and UEFA Super Cup.

As an attempt to get everyone playing this new iteration, EA has announced the Founders Status to everyone who join the gameplay by November 1st. With an announced release date of September 29th (and early play periods for some before that, details below) that five you about a month to get in. Founders Status does unlock some benefits like a Founders badge and things, but it's not mandatory.

EA SPORTS FC 24's official release is September 29th, 2023 for PS4/PS5, Xbox One/Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch (but we don't talk about the vastly inferior Switch version). Pre-ordering the the Ultimate Edition will get you in a week early, September 22nd, as well as some bonus, untradebale FUT rewards. Regular EA Play members will also get early access on September 22nd, but it's limited to a 10 hour trial. EA Play Pro members get unlimited access to the EA Play Pro Edition of the game, which includes the Ultimate Edition content, as well as the early access on September 22nd. All EA Play members will get bonuses for FUT and Volta game modes.