
EA has outlined the biggest Football Ultimate Team changes coming to EA SPORTS FC™ 27, including the new FUT Gallery, Holographic Player Items, branching Evolutions, redesigned SBCs, and more flexible rewards. The details appeared in the game’s official Steam announcement.
EA SPORTS FC 27 will begin its launch rollout on September 18, 2026. The FUT changes are built around giving Clubs more long-term progression, while reducing some of the repetitive work involved in managing Items and completing challenges.
Here is what EA revealed in its FUT deep dive.
FUT Gallery turns Club history into progression
The new FUT Gallery will record Player Items that have passed through a Club. That includes memorable cards used during a FUT Champions Finals run, as well as Items that were later sold on the Transfer Market, discarded, or submitted into an SBC.
Most Player Items earned from Packs, the Transfer Market, Objectives, SBCs, and other Football Ultimate Team rewards can be added to the Gallery. Loan Items are excluded. Evolution Items are represented by their original base Item before the Evolution was applied.
Gallery progress is divided into Sets based on themes such as Nations, Leagues, Clubs, and Campaigns. Players can fill slots manually or use an autocomplete option to complete available spaces faster. Custom Sets will also let players highlight favorite Items or build displays around themes that matter to them.
Set Grades and Gallery Levels
Completing a Set is only part of the process. Every Set receives a grade based on the Items used to fill it. Higher OVR cards and special versions are worth more toward the Set’s score, giving players a reason to revisit completed Sets and improve them throughout the season.
Set grades can provide cosmetics, Gallery Tokens, and other rewards. Gallery Tokens can be spent in the Gallery Token Store on items such as Kits, Badges, and a new historical Item class called Hall of FUT. EA said more information about Hall of FUT will come later.
Each completed or improved Set also contributes to the overall Gallery Level. Reaching Gallery milestones can award larger prizes, including Holographic Items. The Token Store will receive new rewards during the season, giving players more control over what they pursue next.
A visible home for every Ultimate Team
The Gallery Hub will serve as a new main Football Ultimate Team environment. Player Items, favorite Sets, and other parts of a Club can appear around the space, giving the Club a more visible identity as it develops.
The Gallery Hub will be available on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2. Items can appear as 3D objects, with a growing collection changing the look of the space over time. A new Club may show Bronze, Silver, and Gold Items, while later progress can add Campaign Items, ICONs, Heroes, and Holographic Items.
Holographic Items add rarity without changing gameplay
Holographic Items will be rarer versions of eligible special Items. When a qualifying special Item appears in a Pack, its Holographic version may also be available. These cards will use premium visual effects, but the player and in-match Attributes will remain the same.
There will be two Holographic variants. Regular Holographic Items will use an animated foil effect, while Pristine Holographic Items will add a more premium presentation that includes the player’s name in a stylized font. Each eligible Player Item will have only one Holographic version, either Regular or Pristine.
Holographic Items will contribute more to a Gallery Set’s score because of their rarity.
Base Item rarity is being simplified
Bronze, Silver, and Gold Items will no longer be separated into Common and Rare categories. In FC 27, base Items will simply be classified as Bronze, Silver, or Gold.
Packs will also stop displaying a guaranteed minimum number of Rare Items. EA said the intended chance of receiving a base Player Item rated 82 OVR or lower will remain consistent with FC 26 for Packs that previously guaranteed Rare Player Items. Individual Items with the same OVR can still have different Pack odds, so players will need to check the in-game Pack Probability screen for specific FUT Store Packs.
Streamlined SBCs reduce squad-building chores
Streamlined SBCs will offer a faster way to complete certain Squad Building Challenges, particularly Player and Upgrade SBCs. Instead of assembling a full squad around Chemistry, positions, or a squad rating, players will see eligible Items in their Club and choose which ones to submit.
Each Item will provide a score based on its OVR and rarity. Players can submit Items until they reach the target score, and duplicate versions of the same Item can count toward the requirement. Progress can also be completed across multiple submissions rather than in one sitting.
Some examples may require a total score with a minimum Item rating, such as 75 OVR. Others may only ask for a total score. That would allow players to use more lower-rated Items, fewer higher-rated Items, or a mixture of both.
EA plans to use Streamlined SBCs across most Player and Upgrade SBCs. Traditional SBCs will remain for more puzzle-focused Challenge SBCs, with the balance between the two formats subject to player feedback during the year.
Evolutions will offer more planning tools
FC 27 will add two major Evolution features: Pathways and Evolution Chain Preview.
Pathways will give some Evolutions branching upgrade options. One route could improve dribbling and add Technical, while another could improve defensive awareness and add Jockey. Not every Evolution will use this system, and linear Evolutions will still be available.
Evolution Chain Preview will let players see how one Evolution could affect future options before committing. Instead of previewing only the next upgrade, players will be able to inspect potential chains and see which additional Evolutions may become available afterward.
PlayStyle Lab returns
The PlayStyle Lab will return as a recurring program beginning with Season 1. Eligible Items will arrive with some PlayStyles already applied, allowing players to customize only part of the Item’s PlayStyle setup instead of starting from zero.
Requirements will differ between PlayStyles, with some taking more time or effort to obtain. EA said the changes are meant to preserve each Item’s identity while supporting more variety in squad building and on-pitch play.
Campaign Hub brings live content together
The new Campaign Hub will gather active FUT content in one place. Campaigns can include Objectives, SBCs, Evolutions, Gallery Sets, Live Events, and other activities.
Players will be able to see what is available in the current Campaign, check upcoming rewards, and move to the relevant content from the same hub.
Single Player Live Events add offline challenges
FC 27 will expand Live Events with themed single-player options against AI opponents. These events can use custom squads, special rules, specific squad requirements, and opponents built around the event’s theme.
Some events will be structured as connected challenges. Early matches may offer selectable difficulties and lighter requirements, while later rounds can bring stronger opponents, fixed difficulty levels, and more demanding squad restrictions.
Events can be tied to a Club, Campaign, tournament, or another piece of live content. EA also described potential Single Player Tournaments that recreate a knockout run against top Clubs from leagues around the world, complete with custom tactics and squads. A tournament could begin on Semi-Pro, progress through Professional and World Class, and finish on Legendary.
Item upgrades will progress at a slower pace
EA is changing the way Player Items develop over the season. At launch, Items will have OVR and PlayStyle levels similar to FC 26. By the end of the season, however, the gap between base Items and final Campaign Items is intended to be smaller than it was in FC 26.
The maximum number of PlayStyle+ traits on a single Item will fall from five to three. EA is also reducing the scale of Attribute upgrades, with an emphasis on preserving the traits that make individual players feel distinct.
Campaign Squads will appear during about five fewer weeks across the year. Those periods will still contain live-service content, but they will not introduce a new Campaign Squad. EA said this should give major Campaigns and their featured Items more room to stand out.
Special Items will support every primary and secondary role
Every special Item released during the year will receive Role++ familiarity across all roles in its primary and secondary positions. That gives players more freedom when building a squad around preferred tactics.
FC 27 will also introduce Attacking Spatial Awareness, which should help players recognize open space and make more decisive attacking runs instead of staying too rigidly tied to their Roles.
EA connected this system with Triggered Curved Runs, Pass & Follow Runs, and Crossing into space. More details on those features, Creative Runs, and Skill-Based Crossing are available in the Gameplay Deep Dive Pitch Notes.
End-of-match rewards will make progress more immediate
FC 27 will move part of the rewards tied to weekly modes and Live Event Objectives into End of Match Rewards. At launch, selected modes are expected to grant Match Coins and SP after a match. EA also plans to increase the number of Coins earned after matches, with games contributing to the Season Track.
This system is meant to provide progress after individual matches and let players keep earning rewards in a preferred mode after completing its weekly rewards. EA is also increasing the share of rewards delivered through direct FUT Coins and tradeable Packs.
Event Tokens will return as well. Introduced in FC 26 during The World’s Game Update, the Tokens can be earned through evergreen and event-specific programs and used toward rewards across different game modes.
EA said more details about the FUT live-service plan will arrive in a Launch Update Pitch Notes article closer to the September 18 launch.
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EA Sports FC 27
Developed by EA Vancouver






