EA Sports FC 27 Beta Reveals 9-Minute Look at The Grounds—Open-World Mode

Last month, Electronic Arts unveiled the latest installment in its football simulator series—EA Sports FC 27. As well as significant changes to the gameplay, Career Mode, and Ultimate Team, the game will feature a brand-new mode—The Grounds—which utilizes an open-world concept and, on paper, looks set to be the game’s main highlight.

As some users have managed to gain access to the EA Sports FC 27 beta version, clips showing The Grounds mode’s features have already surfaced. This time, one user has shared over 9 minutes of footage from the open-world mode, offering a more in-depth look at what players will be able to do there—though it’s worth bearing in mind that this is only a beta version, and the final version is likely to differ. A new, unofficial look at The Grounds mode in EA Sports FC 27 is available below:

As you can see from the video, you can customize your character in The Grounds by purchasing various items—tops, bottoms, and boots—and even changing hairstyles and getting tattoos from in-game shops using fictional currency. At any time in the open world, by pressing certain keys, your character will hold a ball, and a target will appear in the air, which you must hit with a volley. The city also features numerous NPCs, as well as other players—with whom you can compete in various modes, such as 1v1, Rush, Balloon Ball, and many other mini-games and challenges.

The video also showcases the 1v1 mode against another player, character progression options, and movement around different parts of the map—it will be interesting to see how much the mode changes when there are dozens of times more players in a session.

Last week it also emerged that Electronic Arts has changed hands —the company is now owned by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners.

EA Sports FC 27 releases September 25 on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, and Switch 2. The Grounds mode will only be available on PC and current-gen consoles (Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch 2).