EA Sports FC 24 isn’t a huge change — but EA hopes it’s the start of something bigger

theverge.com:

By Andrew Webster, an entertainment editor covering streaming, virtual worlds, and every single Pokémon video game. Andrew joined The Verge in 2012, writing over 4,000 stories.

EA Sports FC 24 — or FC24, for short — is a huge release for Electronic Arts, launching today on PlayStation, Xbox, PC, and Switch. But you wouldn’t necessarily know its importance from playing the new game. FC24 is the first title since the publisher’s split from FIFA, the sport’s global governing body, a chance for EA to break out on its own with one of the most popular franchises in gaming. But the game also feels like well, FIFA. Instead of a whole new franchise, it plays a lot like the one that came before it, with the kinds of updates and additions that are typical of an annualized sports game. It’s not a jarring change if you’ve spent a lot of time with FIFA 23.

This is not to say that FC24 is a bad game. I’ve mostly been enjoying my time with it. It looks better, particularly when it comes to animations, with new tech called HyperMotion V that uses real-world data so that players move like they do in the real world. It’s especially notable for big-name players who now look ripped out of a TV broadcast, with distinctive movements so that you can pick out Lionel Messi from afar.

There’s clearly been a lot of attention put on materials; jerseys sway and move like real cloth. Similarly, the new PlayStyles feature uses analytics data to make it so players behave more like they do in reality; some have an impeccable first touch, while others are good at thumping opponents on defense.

There’s also been a continued focus on improving the women’s side of the game, most notably by adding the top leagues in Germany and France and introducing — to