After much anticipation and the gradual inclusion of women’s football into the FIFA series, EA’s FC 24 will officially incorporate female players into its ultra-popular Ultimate Team mode. Speaking at the game’s official reveal, the developers have explained why now was the time to make the significant change.
Women’s football has been growing in prominence in the FIFA series for some time, with the Women’s UCL dropping in FIFA 23. Women’s national teams first debuted in FIFA 16 and, with the baton passing from ‘FIFA’ to ‘EA FC 24’ it’s been confirmed that over 1,600 women players will be joining Ultimate Team.
FC 24 Producer Jean Tether confirmed it’s the “largest player pool we’ve ever added to Ultimate Team,” with women players rated against “the competition they play on the pitch”. There has been some backlash to the high ratings of women, with Sam Kerr widely rumored to have the same in-game OVR as Kylian Mbappe.
She went on to explain, from EA’s perspective, why now is the perfect time for women to come into Ultimate Team, pointing to the explosion in popularity of women’s football and the new Playstyles system that allows EA to tailor specific players to their real-life counterparts.
“The world’s game’s growing,” she said. “And this is reflected in the explosion of women’s football… on and off the pitch.” It was confirmed that women will be “fully integrated” into Ultimate Team, included in SBCs, Objectives, Champs, ICONs, Campaigns and more.
“We’re here to authentically represent the world’s game,” Tether continued. “Both halves of the world’s game. As part of that we’ve been on a journey… bringing women into Ultimate Team is just the next part of that journey. FC 24 is so much about revolutionized gameplay and with Playstyles and Playstyles+, there’s never been a better time to have women’s football in Ultimate Team and introduce all of these awesome players.”
Players will be able to build hybrid squads, using men and women as they like to reach maximum chemistry. With both playing for Chelsea, Sam Kerr and Christopher Nkunku will receive a ‘strong’ link. It’s uncharted territory for fans of EA’s football simulation franchise, but it’s a natural step and one that’s sure to shake up how players across the world play.
EA FC 24 will release on Sept. 29 on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch and PC. The Ultimate Edition of the game will include seven days early access, allowing players to dive in starting Sept. 22.
