A Former EA FC Developer Says The Grounds Was One of the Worst Projects of His Career
A developer who spent over a decade on EA's football series says the studio's newest mode will expose something, and he's not saying what yet.
The Claim
On July 30, Renzo Barraza, posting under the name DaaGlitcher, called The Grounds one of the worst projects of his career and said the mode would "expose the company even more" once he explains what happened behind it. He worked on the EA Sports FC series, formerly FIFA, from 2013 to 2025, moving from Tester up to Quality Designer according to his own posted résumé. He said a video is coming. As of this writing, it hasn't landed.
What The Grounds Actually Is
The Grounds is EA FC 27's new open-world social hub, split into three districts: Parkside, styled after English streets, Montclair, styled after France, and Zeiza. Mentors populate the space, including cover athlete Kylian Mbappé and Lioness Chloe Kelly. Two characters from EA's dormant single-player lineage return alongside them, Alex Hunter, last seen in FIFA 19's The Journey, and Ted Lasso's A.F.C. Richmond, absent since FIFA 23, now with a women's side added. Everything done in The Grounds earns XP toward a Virtual Pro, and the mode ties into Clubs.
The Same Week, Different Numbers
EA Sports FC 27 carries a PEGI 16 rating, the first time any mainline entry in the series has landed above PEGI 3, tied to new pan-European rules around Ultimate Team's loot box packs. The Ultimate Plus edition costs $149.99, the most expensive edition EA has ever sold and 50% above the prior Ultimate tier. Both landed in the same week as Barraza's post.
EA Sports Has Been Here Before
EA Sports already built predatory microtransactions into a single-player mode in a sibling title. The Grounds is getting its own dedicated Deep Dive as a headline feature, unlike the hidden system EA built into College Football 27's single-player mode. Barraza's complaint so far is about the production itself, not about monetization.
The Timing
Barraza's post landed five days before EA's $55 billion take-private deal is set to close, under a consortium led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund alongside Silver Lake and Affinity Partners. EA confirmed all regulatory approvals were in place as of July 30, the same day he posted. CEO Andrew Wilson stays on, and headquarters remain in Redwood City. That's the backdrop his claim landed against.
