EA Sports FC has been officially confirmed, with new details for the game set to arrive thick and fast in the coming months.
With the end of the FIFA and EA relationship, a new era dawns, with EA Sports FC confirmed as the new title that will be taken forward by the titular developer.
It's now been confirmed that the brand will debut across many of the biggest leagues in the world, with logos revealed and many game details showcased.
With a rumoured early release date in site, we want to take a look at why this brand new game does not need to follow the FIFA formula and should not be an annual release.
More Time, Better Product
It may seem obvious to say, but the more time developers are afforded with a game, the better end product.
FIFA - and sports games in general - have suffered in the past few years, with constant pressure to provide a yearly release.
Of course, there are benefits of annual releases - and we'll touch on those later - but it's hard to argue that this time constraint hasn't negatively affected the gaming industry.
Take 2K Games for instance. Following the disaster of WWE 2K20, the company took an entire year out to fix the mistakes and produced a much better experience in WWE 2K22.
Whilst FIFA hasn't been fundamentally broken, it has started to feel more formulaic and glitchy.
EA Sports FC 24 has a chance to buck that trend, especially whilst the developers are understanding what works and what doesn't, and what should be dropped from the past 20 years.
With FIFA not set to challenge EA in 2023, EA Sports FC 24 should be an exciting, fresh start that looks to set a new precedent.
A bi-annual release would allow the developers to truly react to mistakes made on release, implementing better new features and enhancing gameplay in ways we've never seen before.
Whilst we all know fans are desperate for new things, people have also proven that they are willing to wait for something that proves to be a better experience.
Problems and Solutions
There are some obvious issues that crop up when suggesting a bi-annual release.
The first is kits and aesthetics, with every team in the land now changing strip every season and huge money moves made each summer.
The simple fix is a major update to the game that can be provided around the usual September time, putting new kits and transfers into the game.
Career Mode can provide an option to start in the original season or the new one, allowing for some slight nostalgia as fans delve back into the first year.
What about Ultimate Team? Well, EA Sports FC 24 could easily take Ultimate Team's formula and change it entirely, focussing less on promos and more on the slow building of a team.
Alternatively, you could introduce an end date for people's original squads, or create a 'Season 2' type section that would enable people to start afresh, just like they do every year.
Monetisation would obviously prove to be another issue, but EA Sports have shown they're more than capable of thinking outside the box.
Make That Change
The benefits of an annual release are always worth mentioning.
A new game every year is exciting for players, and obviously works as a money-making strategy for companies like EA.
However, the excitement people feel with incremental improvements could increase ten-fold if more time is invested in developing the game.
FIFA has a clear issue of feeling stagnant and far too similar every year, and with both big-hitters competing at the very top of the football gaming market, you feel one needs to make a bold move in order to take an early lead.
EA Sports FC 24 Early Release Date
Plenty of information has started to leak regarding EA's brand new game, with official information expected to arrive in the next month or so.
As ever, we have seen prominent members of the FIFA community begin to spread information about the new game, with an early release date the most recent info to be revealed.
According to DonkTrading on Twitter, EA Sports FC is set for a mega early release date, potentially releasing at the start of the new football season.
This date range may seem rather vague, but it would likely push EA FC's release from the usual late-September to the more sensible mid-to-late August.
In order to coincide with the hype of the new football season, this has been a move suggested for some time and it looks as though EA are set to finally action it.
As stated above, these are only leaks right now, with more official information set to be released in the coming weeks and months.
It's also worth noting that, if these rumours turn out to be true, then this would be the earliest we've ever seen an EA Sports football title release.