With developer Electronic Arts making the rebrand to EA Sports FC for its annual soccer series, players have been expecting big changes. While the flagship series, EA Sports FC 24, hasn’t completely changed the game, a recent announcement from EA is taking things in a wildly different direction. EA announced that it is bringing a new mobile spin-off into the EAFC family early next year and in a surprising twist, the game is going to be a turn-based tactical game. EA Sports FC Tactical takes the sport players know and love and turns it into something entirely new.
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What is EA Sports FC Tactical?
EA Sports FC Tactical is a brand-new direction for the EA Sports FC series. Similar to Ultimate Team in EA Sports FC 24 and EA Sports FC Mobile, players will build up their team using star players from around the world, but the actual gameplay is completely different. Games are simulated, but you can use various in-game strategies to affect the outcome. In some ways, it’s kind of like a manager mode except that you’re not restricted to just making subs and changing tactics. You’ll also have some control of your players’ moment-to-moment decision-making, telling them what action to take during specific moments.
“EA Sports FC Tactical embraces strategic gameplay to create an all-new football experience that immerses players in the World’s Game like never before,” said Nick Wlodyka, SVP, GM of EA Sports FC. “We’re excited to welcome fans of turn-based strategy games to join the club as part of the EA Sports FC player community, and look forward to sharing more on EA Sports FC Tactical soon.” ย
The initial press release doesn’t get into too many gameplay details but from the screenshots on the Google and iOS stores, you can see that EA Sports FC Tactical will support Evolutions, which have been very popular in EAFC 24. There’s also an option for editing skill moves. Generally, you wouldn’t read too much into that, but some of the screenshots seem to point to players having more fantastical abilities. It’s unlikely Tactical goes full Captain Tsubasa, but we may see a game that’s more out there than the rest of the EAFC lineup.
When is EA Sports FC Tactical‘s Release Date?
EA Sports FC Tactical is currently slated to release in early 2024, though EA hasn’t given any specifics beyond that. Most likely, the game will be available in either January or February. Things could change, but Tactical seems pretty far along and just had a successful beta period.
If you want, EA Sports FC Tactical is currently available to pre-register on both the Google Play and App Store. Doing so will mean that you’ll download the game as soon as it’s available. Plus, as the team moves closer to launch, we’ll likely see more details about how exactly the moment-to-moment gameplay is going to work.
