EA SPORTS FC™ 27 | Gameplay Developer Notes - October

Since the worldwide launch of EA SPORTS FC™ 27, we've been keeping a close watch on your match data to see how you are playing the new game, as well as following discussions on Discord, our Feedback Portal, the EA Forums, and various social media channels. We want to thank everyone who's taken to the pitch so far, and shared what they have been experiencing there.

As we've reviewed a month's worth of in-game data and community insights, we've been able to identify some key trends that show how gameplay has evolved so far. This, combined with extensive testing and feedback from our Design Council, has helped to inform the approach we'll take to updating gameplay in FC 27.

In these Developer Notes, we will walk you through these findings and share what you can expect from our first set of gameplay balance updates, arriving in an upcoming November Title Update.

As we shared with you in our Closed Beta and Gameplay Launch Update, this year we wanted to preserve the FC 27 launch gameplay experience to give players time to adapt to new mechanics. Because of that, we've avoided making any early gameplay updates, which marks a new approach for us compared to previous years.

Now that one month has passed since launch, our data shows several notable changes in how you've been playing in FC 27:

More Accurate Shooting

• Players are becoming more effective in front of goal, taking fewer shots overall but scoring more of the opportunities they create.

More Efficient Passing

• Players are completing a higher percentage of their passes, despite making slightly fewer passes overall and manually-controlled defenders intercepting slightly more often.

• This shows players are adapting to the new balance of passing and interceptions by playing more patiently and picking the right moments to pass the ball.

More Successful Defending

• We're seeing an increase in successful tackles as players become more familiar with defensive mechanics that put more emphasis on manual defending in FC 27.

More Tactical Diversity

• We're seeing players try a wider number of different tactical set ups compared to FC 26 and more variety in player roles by positions. Our data shows us that win rates by formation are evenly distributed with minimal variance.

• Since launch, we've seen the most popular formations change, as players have experimented with what works for their particular styles, and have also developed counters to popular tactics.

• There are formations that are more popular, especially in the higher divisions of play, and we are closely monitoring this space as we see new formations start to become more widely used in response.

Together, these trends help us see the shape of gameplay in FC 27, and most importantly highlight the distinct ways players are engaging with the game this year. Players are more efficient, more patient, and more willing to experiment, which are all positive signs.

After this first month with all of you in the game, these patterns of play are stable enough that we can clearly understand how the game is being played and where we can make targeted refinements to tuning without unintentionally affecting other areas of gameplay.

Our next Title Update in mid-November will introduce our first set of gameplay balance changes for FC 27. But before we dive into the details, we want to share some important context on how our team approaches gameplay balance.

FC gameplay has a lot of moving parts and balance changes are rarely a simple ON & OFF switch. The adjustments in this update are subtle and targeted, designed to reduce how often more "frustrating" moments happen in-game. However, it is important to note that in a fast paced 11v11 game where player movement, ball physics, and collisions all interact, some unexpected outcomes will still happen occasionally, and reducing these outcomes remains a key focus for our Gameplay Team.

Additionally, we also look at how players play differently depending on their Rivals Division or the mode they choose. Something that happens regularly in Division 7 might happen much less frequently in Division 3. This means one single change might not work perfectly for everyone which can result in feedback that goes in opposite directions.

For example, we received feedback from some players who felt that through passes feel more rewarding in FC 27, while others prefer the passing mechanics from previous FC games. We also see ongoing discussions where some players prefer having more manual control over defending, while others prefer more active assistance from their AI-controlled teammates.

Our team makes sure to look at different preferences alongside our data to try to find the best solution. Each adjustment also undergoes extensive playtesting and reviews with our Design Council to ensure we're making targeted improvements in the right areas.

With that in mind, here is a breakdown of what we're focusing on for Title Update v1.2.0.

Fullback Positioning

We've observed situations where Fullbacks would drop too deep while defending, causing issues with defensive structure and unintentionally keeping attackers onside.

With this update, Fullbacks will hold their defensive line more consistently, moving to track runs when there's a genuine attacking threat. As mentioned earlier, this behaviour may still occur occasionally, but overall consistency has been noticeably improved.

Offside Awareness

Alongside the improvements to Fullback positioning, we've refined attacking awareness to help attackers better recognise the defensive line and make more effective runs to stay onside.

Attacking AI Improvements

We've seen some situations where AI-controlled attackers don't always make decisive runs into available space, particularly around the penalty area.

We've made further improvements to attacking AI, helping players make more purposeful supporting runs and better use the space around the box.

Kick-Off Goal Reduction

We've identified situations where the defensive line would drop too deep following kick-off, making it difficult to defend against attacks progressing directly towards goal.

With this update, the defensive line will hold a higher position after kick-off. This should make it more difficult for opponents to progress directly into the box without facing defensive pressure.

Loose Ball Switching Improvements

We've also identified several situations where auto player switching doesn't select the player closest to the ball as expected.

We've made a series of targeted fixes to improve player selection in specific situations, including after a teammate completes a slide tackle, following a headed pass, and after a shot misses the target. These changes aim to make switching feel more consistent and predictable in these moments.

While Title Update v1.2.0 is an important first step, refining gameplay balance is an ongoing process, and one we'll continue working on with you throughout the year. Now that we've analyzed several weeks of live gameplay data, we are in a better position to evaluate where future adjustments might make sense. Our focus still remains on long-term stability and will only deploy updates in line with our commitment to review and test on an ongoing basis.

Here are some of the key areas we're actively working on:

• Situations where high defensive lines can put too much pressure on the opposition

• Looking at how collisions between players of different sizes and physical attributes are handled

• Assessing the accuracy of specific shot types alongside goalkeeper positioning.

These areas require careful investigation and testing. Changes to one gameplay system can have an impact on others, so we will be deliberate before deciding the level of adjustment needed.

Thank you for all the feedback and daily discussions throughout the first month of EA SPORTS FC™ 27. This feedback plays a huge part in how we prioritise gameplay tuning across the year and we are constantly working on ways to improve this dialogue.

We'll be hosting a Live Discord Q&A on October 30th at 4:30PM GMT / 9:30AM PT with our gameplay development team to answer your questions directly. In the meantime, jump into the conversation and submit your questions and feedback in our official Discord server:

http://discord.gg/easportsfc