The Grounds is one of the biggest additions we have had in years in the EA FC franchise, and come Sept. 18, we will be able to test it out in FC 27. The new mode is unlike anything we have seen or played in the past. But what can players typically expect?
We sat with Karthik Venkateshan, Line Producer at EA Sports FC, to learn more about The Grounds.
The Grounds has some unique features. For starters, we have a mode that’s completely open-world and forces no hard rules on you. Naturally, my first query was about the concept behind introducing an open-world mode.
Q: The Grounds is the first open-world EA FC game mode. How did the idea originally
come about, and how does it mesh with the traditional gameplay experience?
V: Football has always been about more than just the game. It’s about the people
you play with, the communities you build, and the culture that surrounds the
sport. The idea for The Grounds was shaped by feedback from our community,
who have consistently asked for more ways to connect, play together, and
express themselves beyond traditional match experiences.
The Grounds brings that to life through a connected social space where players
can meet teammates, recruit for their Club, compete, and build their own football
identity. It’s additive rather than a replacement for the modes and experiences
players already know and love – expanding the ways players can experience FC
while keeping football at the heart of it.
My next couple of questions were based on my own experience with The Grounds during the beta and the origin of the three nations. I also learnt about how serious the monetization schemes in The Grounds mode will be.
Q: Based on the beta, The Grounds mode seems rather polished already. How long has the team been working on it? When was the concept first sketched out? Was it always
planned to be shipped for the ’27 edition, or has it previously been in the pipeline?
V: The Grounds is many years in the making. While it’s an entirely new experience
for FC 27, it brings together years of iteration and learnings across social football,
small-sided gameplay, narrative experiences, and third-person gameplay.
Those learnings have come together over time to shape the connected
experience players will see in FC 27, but this is just the start of what we have in
mind for The Grounds. We’re excited to see how players engage with it and
continue evolving the experience over the coming years.
Q: At launch, we are getting three nations with deep football heritage. How did you choose the three countries available at launch (UK, France, Argentina)? When can we expect further ones, and what are your monetization plans?
V: We looked to different football cultures around the world for inspiration as we built
The Grounds, with the UK, France and Argentina providing distinct starting points
for the three regions available at launch.
Parkside draws on the working-class roots of UK football, with industrial brick
architecture and traditional grass pitches. Montclair channels the energy of
French urban football through cage pitches, 4G turf and harder metropolitan surfaces, while Zeiza celebrates Argentina’s Potrero culture, blending European
and Latin architectural influences with patchy grass and concrete pitches.
Together, they give each region its own identity while reflecting the different
places and ways football is played around the world. We’re excited for players to
discover Parkside, Montclair and Zeiza when EA SPORTS FC 27 launches, and
we’ll have more to share about how The Grounds evolves.
As part of that experience, players can earn rewards through gameplay,
objectives, live events, and seasonal progression. Players also have optional
ways to spend, whether to catch up on seasonal progression or purchase
cosmetics for additional ways to express themselves. Spending money isn’t
required to enjoy The Grounds, and our focus remains on giving players
meaningful ways to play, progress, and make the experience their own.
Ultimate Team doesn’t need any separate introduction but for the first time, the talk of the town has been The Grounds. Naturally, my final questions were about how the two modes can potentially co-exist, and what kind of live service can we find going forward in The Grounds.
Q: Ultimate Team receives consistent content updates. Are there similar plans for The
Grounds, and if so, what form might they take?
V: The Grounds is designed to evolve throughout the year, giving players new
reasons to return, play together and progress across each Season. Players can
expect a mix of fresh experiences, events, and rewards that bring new energy to
The Grounds over time.
That will include Campaign Takeovers inspired by moments from across football
and culture, with Champions League and Halloween-themed experiences among
the first examples players can look forward to. We’ll have more to share on
additional content and experiences as the year progresses.
Q: Ultimate Team has long been EA FC’s primary multiplayer game mode, while Pro Clubs
has been the go-to social experience. How do you see them coexisting with The
Grounds in terms of what they offer to the players and how they might split their playtime across the modes?
V: The Grounds is centered on addressing two things we’ve consistently heard from
the Clubs community – which includes many players who also spend time in
Ultimate Team. They want more things to do together with their Clubmates
beyond Leagues and Playoffs, and more ways to play when their Clubmates are
offline.
The Grounds creates more flexibility around both. Players can jump into
smaller-sided, lower-stakes competition with or against their Clubmates, meet
new teammates and recruit for their Club, or take a break from more competitive
experiences with a casual Kickabout.
Ultimately, the ambition is to expand the FC experience by giving players more
ways to play and connect, rather than taking anything away from the modes they
already love.
