Ultimate Team in FC 27 keeps its familiar shape but rewires several of its core loops. The headline additions are the FUT Gallery collection book and a rebuilt Squad Building Challenge system that drops chemistry and rarity rules in favor of a single score target. Alongside those, progression is being flattened, Evolutions gain branching upgrades, and single-player Live Events arrive for players who avoid PvP.
Quick answer: The FUT Gallery registers every eligible card you own or have owned into themed sets for rewards without removing it from your club, and SBCs now only ask you to hit a numeric score instead of meeting chemistry and rating requirements.
FUT Gallery: how the collection book works
The FUT Gallery is a new collection and progression layer that sits inside your Club. Until now, a card had two purposes: play it in your squad or use it as fodder for SBCs. The Gallery adds a third. It acts as a permanent record of the players you collect over the season and lets you build themed sets that raise your overall Gallery level.
Sets are grouped into categories such as Seasons, Custom, Nations, Leagues, Clubs, and Rarities. To fill a slot you submit a card that matches the set’s requirements. This is different from an SBC because you do not need to currently own the card. If you had, for example, a La Liga card in your club at any point, it can go toward the La Liga set even after you have sold or used it.
Registering a card does not remove it from your club or create a duplicate. The original keeps its trade status and can still be used in squads, Evolutions, and SBCs. Once registered, the entry stays unlocked even if you later sell or submit that card. The entry is only a record, though, so it cannot be pulled back into a squad.
Every filled slot grants Gallery points. The amount scales with the card’s rarity and overall rating, so higher-rated and rarer items push your progress further than common cards. Completing a full set gives considerably more progress than registering cards one at a time. Special holographic items and promo cards score the highest.
Grades and rewards
Each set is graded once you reach enough score, with grades running from D up to S. Hitting new grades unlocks club cosmetics and Gallery Tokens, which you spend in the Gallery store. The standout token reward is the new Hall of FUT items, a set of cards inspired by fan-favorite players. There are 17 Hall of FUT cards available at launch. Your Gallery level reflects the combined score of every set you hold.
Note: each version of a player has its own Gallery entry. Registering a Gold item does not unlock that player’s Team of the Week or campaign card automatically.
Score-based SBCs replace chemistry and rarity rules
Squad Building Challenges move to a score system. Instead of matching a required overall rating, chemistry level, and card-type conditions, you simply reach a target score by submitting cards. Every card contributes its own score toward the goal.
If a challenge asks for a score of 500, how you get there is up to you. You could submit 50 silver cards, 10 gold cards, or two promo items. This matters most in the early weeks of the cycle, when reaching high squad ratings and chemistry is normally the hardest part. It also finally gives spare fodder a purpose, since silver cards that had no use beyond daily challenges can now feed into bigger SBCs.
You also no longer have to finish an SBC in one sitting. You can clear stored cards toward a target as and when you have them, filling the requirement over time.
Progression changes and card longevity
The bigger design goal is keeping cards relevant for longer and narrowing the gap between squads. End-game items are less boosted than before, campaign spacing is wider, and PlayStyle upgrades are more restrained. The intent is a tighter overall spread across the season rather than the wide power swings of recent years, described by EA as “slower to strong, faster to elite.”
| Change | What it does |
|---|---|
| End-game items ~20% less boosted | Keeps cards competitive for longer stretches of the year |
| Maximum of three PlayStyles+ per card | Focused upgrades so evolved cards stay usable instead of being outclassed |
| ~5 fewer campaign weeks | More time between promos and less rapid power creep |
| SP earned after matches | Season Points now come from playing matches, not only objectives |
| More tradable packs | Additional tradable rewards from various sources |
| Base Icon overall raised 86 to 88 | Stats and PlayStyles better aligned to each Icon |
Tokens introduced during FC 26 continue, split into time-limited tokens and evergreen tokens for use across your club journey. Rewards from SBCs and objectives are meant to stay relevant longer under the flatter curve, and end-game payouts grow through more coins and SP.
Evolutions gain branching paths and previews
Evolutions carry over and gain more control. Each stage now has a branching path, so a single Evolution can be customized rather than following one fixed upgrade chain. Once you invest a card, you choose which upgrades it takes, and the degree of those upgrades can vary. Because of this, not everyone ends up with the same version of a popular card.
You can preview the full upgrade chains before committing. The PlayStyles Lab returns from launch and stays available all year, letting you design higher-impact PlayStyles for long-term cards. Every Campaign and Promo item ships with Role++ for primary and secondary positions from launch.
Single-player Live Events against the AI
Live Events are no longer PvP only. A single-player track runs alongside the multiplayer version, pitting you against AI opponents across rounds of rising difficulty. Reach the final and you face an AI-controlled squad on Ultimate difficulty.
These competitions can mirror real tournaments, such as a UEFA Champions League run from the round stages to the final. In that format the early AI opposition starts easy, while the final can put you against the current Champions League winners on Ultimate difficulty. It gives solo players a way to earn event rewards without playing online.
Season and promo schedule
| Season | Window | Content |
|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | Sept – Oct | Future Stars |
| Season 2 | Oct – Nov | Ultimate Scream, Hall of FUT Unleashed |
| Season 3 | Dec – Jan | Winter Wildcards, updated Live Events, streamlined SBC updates |
| Season 4 | Jan – Feb | TOTY, custom gameplay Live Events, end-of-match rewards |
Release date and access
EA Sports FC 27 launches on September 25, 2026 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Ultimate and Ultimate Plus Edition buyers, along with EA Play subscribers, get up to seven days of early access from September 18, 2026, so the Ultimate Team changes here will be the first thing many players test in that early window.
