Booting up the pre-release version of EA Sports FC 24, I was strangely excited and curious to find out what was waiting. I’ve played every FIFA since about 2010 so, despite being more taken with some and less with others, there’s always been a degree of certainty about what you’re going to get from a new one. Sure, there’ll be upgrades and tweaks, but seasoned players know what to expect. With EA FC 24, there was little of that.
I was immediately reassured by the menus (bear with me). The FC 24 logo comes up first, clean and minimalist. The more I’ve thought about this branding and name change, the more I’ve liked it. Especially as the largest portion of the player base (myself too) spends most of their time with Ultimate Team, recent FIFA iterations have felt more and more like building your own football club. What better name than FC, then?