EA Sports’ flagship franchise, FC (formerly known as FIFA), has been one of the most popular video game franchises in the world for several decades now.
New instalments of the game come out on a yearly basis, coinciding with the real-world football season, and fans all over the world are often desperate to get their hands on a copy as soon as they can. The most recent edition, FC 26, sold over 12 million copies worldwide.
Typically, a new addition to the franchise releases at some point in late September every year. With August now just around the corner, it is naturally time for EA Sports to gradually begin revealing details about their upcoming title.
According to a combination of official confirmed information from EA Sports themselves and leaks, some key info about FC 27 has made it’s way to fans. The game is expected to release on all the latest platforms such as PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, and the cover star of the Ultimate Edition is set to be Real Madrid and France’s superstar striker, Kylian Mbappe.
The standard edition of the game is reportedly going to hit store shelves on September 25, while those who pre-order the Ultimate Edition will get access a week early. The usual that we have come to expect from the franchise is also as is: squads, kits and player ratings will be updated to reflect the 2026/27 season, and further refinement and polishing will be carried out across all game modes.
Along with all this, a slightly unexpected change has also been reported. Upto this point, every game in the franchise had been rated PEGI 3, indicating that it is suitable for all age groups. Considering the FIFA games contain only football-related themes and gameplay mechanics, this was quite understandable.
FC 27, though, has received an age-rating of PEGI 16.
🚨 FC 27 age rating has changed
— EAFC 26 News (@FIFA22_INFO) July 21, 2026
• ❌ PEGI 3
• ✅ PEGI 16
Thoughts on the change? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/LLx3IEiid3
On first glance, this is extremely surprising news that would leave one guessing if EA Sports somehow added mature themes to what is otherwise a pretty wholesome football-related experience.
However, this is not the case. The sudden jump in the game’s age rating is mainly to do with PEGI changing how it rates modern games. The biggest factor at fault for FC 27 being rated PEGI 16 is the presence of loot boxes within the game’s interface.
These loot boxes, typically prevalent in FC’s most popular game mode, Ultimate Team, provide randomised in-game rewards, and are purchased using real money, which gives it some gambling-like mechanics.
This is the main reason why PEGI has deemed the game to be unsuitable to younger, more impressionable minds who could be susceptible to the addictive nature of such mechanics.
Another major factor at play is that there are many modes in the game which allow for online play with random players all over the world. This, in turn, allows for unrestricted online communication which could leave young players at risk.
All in all, the drastic change in the game’s age rating is concerned purely with how EA Sports have decided to add monetisation elements within FC 27’s menus. The core gameplay elements and football-related content that fans know and love will remain largely unchanged.
