EA has outlined several changes and investigations for The Grounds in EA Sports FC 27, with Kickabout matchmaking, Winner Stays streaks, menu performance, and Clubs fatigue among the main topics discussed. The development team says early player activity has heavily favored small-sided football, including 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, and In-World Rush. That popularity has made it more difficult to find enough players for some of the other activities available in The Grounds.
Winner Stays and Kickabout Matchmaking
One of the most requested additions is a proper Winner Stays system that would allow successful players to remain on the pitch and build a win streak. EA says it has already started exploring possible designs, although no release date or final implementation has been announced.
Kickabout matchmaking is another area under investigation. The developers acknowledge that getting enough players together to start a match can currently be difficult, and are considering several approaches.
- Allowing players to signal that they need more players at a specific gameplay site.
- Connecting players across servers while keeping them within the world experience.
- Running scheduled Kickabout-focused events to bring more players into the activity at the same time.
Clubs Fatigue and Menu Performance
EA has also responded to feedback surrounding Clubs 11v11. Long-term fatigue was reintroduced with Title Update v1.0.1 after players raised concerns that infinite stamina could give an advantage to larger Clubs compared with smaller groups.
The team is also investigating reports of slow or unresponsive menus within The Grounds.
Other Issues Being Addressed
The developers provided an update on several additional issues, with some fixes already deployed and others still being tested or investigated:
- 5-star skill moves in small-sided matches: Fix deployed.
- High ping in some cross-region Clubs matches: Fix deployed.
- Incorrect Archetype Point costs: Under investigation.
- Erratic 1v1 goalkeeper behavior: Under investigation.
- Teleport access to Stadium and Clubhouse portals: Potential fix being tested.
- 11v11 Drop-In preferred position: Potential fix being tested.
- World map unavailable while queued: Potential fix being tested.
- Map input opening the Season Pass: Potential fix being tested.
EA says it will continue monitoring player feedback and gameplay data as more players spend time in The Grounds, while further improvements are investigated and prepared for release.