- Primary Subject: EA Sports FC 27 (2026/2027 Season)
- Key Update: FC 27 introduces a nerfed AI defending system, "The Grounds" open-world hub, and major Career Mode overhauls, including Dynamic OVR and Dynamic Valuations.
- Status: Confirmed (Official Review)
- Last Verified: September 25, 2026
- Quick Answer: EA FC 27 features disappointing gameplay and a flat open-world hub, but its vastly improved Career Mode makes it a must-play for offline fans.
September is here, and that normally means two things: the beginning of Fall and the release of a new EA FC title. The latter is arguably more anticipated and more likely to draw criticism.
After a disappointing FC 26, EA Sports promised a lot of improvements for FC 27, as they normally do, and the addition of a "groundbreaking" mode.
Of course, gameplay was the main topic of discussion, with less AI defending, more control over players, less emphasis on PlayStyles, and an overhaul of the set pieces system promised.
Huge changes to Career Mode and a slower power curve to Ultimate Team were also advertised.
But did anything actually change, or were these more empty promises from EA Sports?
Less AI, Same Level of Enjoyment
The nerf to AI defending is by far the biggest gameplay change in this year's title, and while it has many positive aspects, it's by no means flawless.
There is a balance between the AI doing everything for you, which was what FC 26 gameplay felt like after its first big update, and the AI being completely devoid of its intelligence.
I don't want the AI to tackle or cut passing lanes for me, but I would like my center-backs to not practice social distancing from opposing forwards at all times.
But perhaps what makes defending frustrating, which it should be to a certain extent; after all, skill-based elements need to be involved in the gameplay, is the fact that attacking is so unrealistic.
It's Karim Adeyemi wiggling from one side to the other outside the box until one of my center-backs' ACLs finally snaps and he finds an opening.
Most of the goals I concede, and that I've seen other players concede as well, are like that. No build-up play, attacking movement, or great link-up play, just an attacker with insane agility moving side to side until space inevitably opens up.
That's anything but realistic, and while I think sports games don't need to be just about realism, as fun is the most important thing, after all, you are playing a video game; it's also no fun at all.
While other EA Sports games such as College Football 27 managed to find the sweet spot between realism and fun, FC 27 managed to do something I didn't think was possible: having a game that is neither.
If you value realism or want to experience simulation-based gameplay, then the FC 27 gameplay, especially the competitive one, isn't for you.
Yes, less AI defending is good, but the gameplay still feels like it did in FC 26. Players are still ice skating on the pitch; attacking AI is baffling at times, player switching is atrocious, and above all, it's not fun to play.
The Open World No One Asked For
The Grounds is FC 27's main new feature, an open-world mode supposed to rival NBA 2K The City and provide players a unique way to experience the game. Instead, it feels and looks like an open world built for the sake of it.
The mode felt incredibly flat to me. The games you have in it could be quickly accessed via menu options, saving you time and hassle.
However, EA Sports thinks fans love to have to enter the mode, walk to the location of the game mode or mini-game they want to access, and wait in a long queue before they can finally enjoy the game.
That is, if there are even enough players for that mini-game, because there are plenty of times when The Grounds feels empty, with modes no one is queuing for.
They did get the monetization aspect of NBA 2K The City right, as The Grounds completely opens Pandora's box for microtransactions for Clubs and adds more cosmetic monetization options.
I'm not shocked by it; the Clubs pay-to-win shift began last year, and I wrote about it, so seeing EA Sports taking the last step of building a mode where more microtransactions, for cosmetic and competitive purposes, are incentivized is far from surprising.
The Grounds also feels far from being the social hub EA Sports advertised it as. It's not vibrant or engaging and is far from feeling as alive as NBA 2K The City does.
For all the flaws NBA 2K The City has, and there are plenty, it gives you so many more reasons to keep coming back to it and experience the different game modes inside.
Unfortunately, The Grounds is incapable of doing so, and you will find yourself looking for reasons to come back after experiencing the mini-games a couple of times.
Career Mode Is The Saving Grace of FC 27
Career Mode is the one mode that actually took a significant step forward. All of the changes work, some better than others, and together they create a more immersive and enjoyable experience than in years past.
Dynamic OVR is arguably the best feature in Career Mode history. Players are now impacted by their performances, both short and long-term, which adds a realism to your save like nothing you have experienced before.
Play well, and your player attributes and OVR will increase. Do so for a long stretch of games, and your player's max potential will increase.
The reverse is also true, as if one of your players is massively underperforming, their attributes and OVR will take a hit.
This incentivizes you to prioritize in-form players, meaning no starting spot is guaranteed, as all players experience performance slumps throughout the season.
The transfer market received a massive overhaul, with the introduction of dynamic valuations and changes to transfer negotiations.
Dynamic valuation is another feature that drastically improves the Career Mode realism.
With player values now fluctuating based on their performances, contract length, and league prestige, the transfer market experience is the most authentic it has ever been.
The same can be said about transfer and contract negotiations. You now need to negotiate with the club and player at the same time, coming to terms with both parties to finalize the transfer.
But you no longer reach a number, shake hands, and unveil the player to the fans in a single day.
The negotiation process takes more time, as it does in real life, and clubs will wait to see other offers, especially if the player you want to sign is a hot commodity in the transfer market.
They will ask you to renegotiate the deal if other good proposals arrive, asking you for less structured installments, more performance-based bonuses, or even a buy-back clause, which are some of the new contract clauses you have access to.
You can even hijack your rival's transfer on the last day of the window, or experience what being a Spurs fan when Eze signed for Arsenal felt like; the latter wasn't anything new to me.
Unexpected Events still work similarly and are a good way to keep your save unpredictable. Scouting was improved, with your scouts' ability now impacting the accuracy of their reports.
Fitness and Recovery systems were revamped to work more similarly to real life and incentivize players to rotate their squad more often.
There is also the addition of custom scenarios, which are basically unique career challenges the game generates for you or that other players created and shared with the community.
It's actually a better feature than I first imagined. If you don't know what type of save you want, or are looking for a real challenge rather than just a traditional EA FC Career Mode experience, this feature is perfect for you.
You can pick five clubs, and the game will generate five unique save options in the blink of an eye. You can also tweak some of them to create the most appealing Career Mode save for you.
It adds a challenge element to Career Mode that you didn't have before and can lead you to manage teams you otherwise would never even consider.
While the Career Mode UI still looks very unappealing to me, as it lacks colors and isn't exactly intuitive to navigate, everything else saw significant improvements, and the experience is vastly different from FC 26.
Dynamic OVR and Dynamic valuation are two of the biggest features to be added to Career Mode in years and add an extra layer of realism to the mode.
EA Sports' execution in FC 27 faltered in a lot of areas, but Career Mode wasn't one of them.
Verdict
Career Mode is truly the shining light at the end of the tunnel for a title that promised a lot but felt very short of delivering it.
Despite the correct decision to reduce AI defensive assistance, gameplay continues to feel unenjoyable and unrealistic, and attacking AI desperately needs improvements.
The Grounds wastes your time with modes that would be easier and quicker to access from the main menu, most of which don't give you a reason to come back.
It's an environment that feels empty, soulless, and that ultimately serves the purpose of adding more microtransaction elements to Clubs to complete its mutation into the new Ultimate Team.
Unless you are a hardcore Career Mode fan, it is very hard to recommend this game, as there aren't enough big changes outside that mode to justify this being a new title rather than a big update.
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