EA Sports FC 24 on Nintendo Switch will run on the Frostbite Engine for the first time, meaning EA isn’t just releasing a rebranded version of FIFA 19 again this year.
Following the game’s full reveal on July 13, Nintendo revealed the rebranded FIFA will finally move Switch players along from the years of essentially reskinned Legacy Editions.
The Frostbite Engine promises to bring “immersive detail” to the Switch version of FC 24, especially when paired with the game’s new PlayStyles technology that “heightens the realism and individuality of each player”.
Switch players will also get to fully enjoy what’s easily FIFA’s (and now, presumably, FC’s) most popular mode in Ultimate Team, where players can develop their own teams of football legends, now including both men and women. Previous FIFA games on Switch included just a limited version of this mode.
These updates are a stark difference to EA’s prior treatment of the Switch versions of its premier football franchise. As illustrated in IGN’s reviews of these games, we awarded the original FIFA 19 a 5/10, and it’s on this foundation that EA released the rest of its Switch offerings.
FIFA 20 (which we said offers “nothing but a barebones roster update”) earned a 4/10, while FIFA 21, FIFA 22, and FIFA 23 earned just a 2/10 each. The final entry is “a prime example of minimal effort for maximum profit”, we said in our review.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article said EA Sports FC 24 on Switch would include Ultimate Team for the first time, instead of the full version of Ultimate Team for the first time. IGN has corrected this and regrets the error.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.