by Game of Review Team · published 2026-10-24 · updated 2026-10-25
EA SPORTS FC™ 27
$69.99 · Our score: 6.2/10
EA SPORTS FC™ 27 price and system requirements Read our reviewWelcome to The Grounds
EA Sports FC 27 launched on September 24, 2026, and this year's headline feature isn't a new skill move or stat tweak, it's The Grounds, a persistent open-world hub where small-sided street games, mini-games, and pickup matches happen outside the usual menu-driven modes.
It's EA's attempt at a football playground, blending park kickabouts with the stadium game players already know. Reviewers have called it the closest thing to a FIFA Street revival in years, even if the open world wrapped around it feels a little empty.
Career mode grew up, Ultimate Team didn't
Career Mode got a real upgrade this year: transfer talks now support installment payments, buy-back clauses, and bonus structures instead of flat lump sums, which makes haggling over a player feel less like a formality.
- Corner kicks and crosses were reworked to give attackers more control over the ball.
- Last year's Competitive and Authentic gameplay presets both return.
- Goalkeepers still fumble routine saves into dangerous spots more often than they should.
Ultimate Team, meanwhile, is the same story as always: pay-to-win progression and pricey card packs, with FC Points bundles running as high as $149.99. That's the tension running through most reviews, a game that improved where it mattered and left alone the part everyone actually complains about.
What Steam players are saying
The base game starts at $69.99, with a $99.99 Ultimate Edition that throws in FC Points, cosmetics, and a handful of Icon players. On Steam, the reaction is genuinely split: the game sits at a "Mixed" rating, with just over half of reviewers recommending it. For a yearly sports franchise with a built-in audience, that's a rougher reception than usual.
Who it's for: if you already live in Ultimate Team or Career Mode and just want this year's rosters and transfer tweaks, FC 27 delivers; if you were hoping EA finally fixed the pay-to-win core of the series, The Grounds isn't enough to change your mind.
Our take
The Grounds is a smart, overdue acknowledgment that football games need more than menus and stadiums, but building a whole open world around mini-games feels like overkill when the real sticking point, the Ultimate Team economy, is still untouched. EA keeps polishing the parts of FC that don't generate recurring revenue while leaving pay-to-win progression exactly as it was, and Steam's roughly even review split reflects that disconnect. Until EA addresses how Ultimate Team makes its money, each year's "biggest new mode" is going to keep reading as a distraction from the actual complaint.
Sources
EA SPORTS FC™ 27
$69.99 · Our score: 6.2/10
EA SPORTS FC™ 27 price and system requirements Read our review