EA Sports FC 24 UK Physical Sales Down 30% From FIFA 23

After the name change, EA Sports FC 24's physical sales took a massive hit in the UK.

By Ricky Frech

Electronic Arts' long-running FIFA series dropped the original name after a pay dispute with the governing body and has rebranded to EA Sports FC 24. That rebrand was supposed to bring sizeable changes to the formula, but outside of changes to Ultimate Team like Evolutions, those major changes haven't really been there. Some fans have been voicing their displeasure, and those annoyances have been backed up by reporting of the early physical sales figures of EA Sports FC 24 in the UK. While that doesn't mean overall sales are down, it does tell a story. 

The sales info was first reported by VGC who noted a series of tweets from GamesIndustry.biz' Chris Dring. In his tweets, Dring noted that while EA Sports FC 24 is the second-highest seller of the year behind The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, physical sales are down 30% compared to FIFA 23. There are several reasons why this might be the case. As noted by Dring, Electronic Arts expected that the series would take a slight sales hit this year with the rebrand. After all, it's been known as FIFA for so long, and some fans might not know about the change.

It's also possible that digital sales are making up a larger portion of the sales this year. Without the full numbers, that's impossible to tell, but in recent years sales have been transitioning to digital more and more, so it's likely that change plays a part. Finally, EA Sports FC 24 has been getting middling reviews, so there could be players who aren't buying the game due to bad word of mouth. Most likely, it's a mix between all three, along with several other factors. It's also worth noting that this is only in the UK. Other countries might have a different split, though EA FC is generally most popular there, so seeing sales down in the UK isn't a great sign.

What is clear is that the Nintendo Switch version of the game is actually doing better than last year in physical sales. That might seem odd if you haven't been keeping up with the Switch version of the game. Previously, the Switch version was a simple roster update for FIFA 18. Finally, the team at EA has given Switch owners a new version of the game, making it a much more attractive package on the platform.

Related:

EA Sports FC 24 Ultimate Team Evolutions

As mentioned, the big change in EA Sports FC 24 this year is the new Evolutions. These let you take a lower-rated player and evolve them into a top-tier player by completing specific challenges. At launch, EA FC has several Evolutions like the Founders and Pacey Protectors available, with many more set to drop as we progress through the game cycle.

Outside of that, the other big change is that men and women can both be in the same squad when you're playing Ultimate Team. It's a neat addition that makes it finally feel like EA FC 24 is embracing soccer as the world's game. EA Sports FC 24 is available now on PlayStation, Switch, Xbox, and PC platforms.

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