During a July livestream, EA Sports revealed EA Sports FC 24, the replacement for its overwhelmingly popular FIFA franchise. The move away from the FIFA license was announced last year, but many of the core tenets remain the same.

The big pitch is around its advanced technology. EA’s proprietary Frostbite engine returns, but with enhancements, including the new Sapien character model skeletons first introduced through Madden NFL 24. The skeleton ensures players look truer to life when standing still but also in motion, making for more realistic movement that affects both the game’s visuals and gameplay. This year’s implementation of Frostbite also includes new GPU cloth technology, which ensures players’ kits move like real-world materials in reaction to movement. You can also expect a better matchday experience, with new animations and scenes featuring the action happening around the pitch, not just on it.

The big new technology is HyperMotionV, which purports to translate the rhythm and fluidity of real-world soccer into EA Sports FC 24. Using this technology, a real-world player can pull off a new move that isn’t in the game, then, within days, HyperMotionV can leverage volumetric capture to build precise animations around that new move and have it in the game faster than ever. It sounds impressive, so it makes sense when EA Sports says the HyperMotionV technology is only present in the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC versions.

Finally, a new system known as PlayStyles is included. Using Opta optimization, PlayStyles goes beyond the series’ in-game ratings to bring athletes to life in new ways. Each PlayStyle gives stars and other players unique abilities for creating a more authentic experience.

We learned the list of leagues is expanding with new inclusions like Liga F and Frauen-Bundesliga, which will join existing leagues like Laliga, Bundesliga, Serie A, and Conmebol Libertadores. The company also announced an exclusive renewal with UEFA, making FC 24 the only place you can play UEFA Champions League, UEFA Women’s Champions League, UEFA Europea League, UEFA Europa Conference League, and UEFA Super Cup. Finally, we learned the FC series secured a long-term renewal with the Premier League.

FC players received good news in the form of cross-platform play. The current-gen versions (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC) play cross-platform, while the last-gen versions (PS4 and Xbox One) can play with each other. Unfortunately, Switch players will be stuck on their own island, as that system is excluded from cross-platform play. Cross-platform features expand into Clubs, Co-op Season, Volta Foot- ball, and Ultimate Team Co-op in addition to the pre-existing cross-platform features found in Ultimate Team, Online Friendlies, and Online Seasons.

EA Sports also revealed Manchester City star Erling Haaland as its cover athlete for this year’s entry. If you can’t wait to step onto the pitch and show what you’ve got, those who buy the Ultimate Edition will receive early access starting September 22.

This preview originally appeared in Issue #359 of Game Informer