One of football gaming’s biggest traditions is back.

EA Sports FC 27 features 120 tracks from artists representing 36 countries, continuing more than two decades of FIFA and FC soundtracks introducing players to music they might never otherwise hear.

The game launches globally on September 25, 2026, with early access beginning September 18.

And once again, the soundtrack is deliberately all over the place.

Who is on the FC 27 soundtrack?

Some of the best-known names include:

The Strokes
Interpol
The War on Drugs
Royal Blood
The Neighbourhood
Little Simz
Nia Archives
Chase & Status
Barry Can’t Swim
Rose Gray
Cage the Elephant
Mura Masa

EA has also filled the soundtrack with emerging artists from around the world.

That’s exactly how these soundtracks should work.

You need a few songs you recognise.

Then the game slowly introduces you to 100 more.

Why are FIFA soundtracks such a big deal?

Because repetition creates discovery.

You might never deliberately search for an unknown artist.

But play a football game for 100 hours and suddenly their song becomes permanently connected to:

Ultimate Team menus
career mode
late-night matches
playing with friends
school holidays

Years later, hearing the track instantly brings all of that back.

That is why lists of “best FIFA songs ever” remain so popular.

The Strokes

If you’ve somehow avoided The Strokes until now, FC 27 is a useful excuse to fix that.

Start with:

Last Nite
Someday
Reptilia
Hard to Explain

Their debut album Is This It became one of the defining guitar records of the early 2000s.

Interpol

Interpol offer a darker side of New York indie rock.

Start with:

Obstacle 1
Evil
Slow Hands
PDA

If The Strokes sound like the party, Interpol often sound like the walk home afterwards.

Barry Can’t Swim

Scottish producer Barry Can’t Swim has become one of Britain’s most interesting electronic artists.

His music mixes:

house
sampling
live instrumentation
disco
electronic pop

He’s also just teamed up with Sammy Virji on new UK garage single “I Could Be Madonna”.

Nia Archives

If FC 27 introduces you to Nia Archives, follow that rabbit hole immediately.

She works around:

jungle
drum and bass
breakbeats
pop songwriting

Her music is a perfect example of old UK rave sounds being reinvented by a generation that didn’t experience their original era.

Chase & Status

Chase & Status represent the other end of that story.

They’ve been central to British drum and bass for years and remain commercially huge.

Their inclusion connects modern FC players to another long-running British dance tradition.

Little Simz

Little Simz is one of Britain’s most acclaimed rappers.

If you’ve only heard singles, try her album Sometimes I Might Be Introvert.

It combines rap with:

orchestral music
soul
Afrobeats
electronic production

Royal Blood

Royal Blood are a two-piece rock band capable of sounding considerably bigger than two people should.

Bass guitar often fills the space normally occupied by both bass and distorted guitar.

Try:

Out of the Black
Figure It Out
Little Monster

Why FC soundtracks matter more than playlists

A playlist competes for your attention.

You can skip.

Change playlists.

Open another app.

A game soundtrack has a different relationship with the listener.

You aren’t necessarily concentrating on it.

The music becomes part of the environment.

Then one day you realise:

What is that song?

That’s the moment discovery happens.

Why older FIFA songs feel so nostalgic

Because they’re attached to something beyond the recording itself.

For some players, a particular song means:

FIFA 08
FIFA 13
FIFA 17
a childhood bedroom
a university flat
a specific console

That emotional attachment can last decades.

EA clearly understands this.

FC 27 even allows players to revisit parts of the franchise’s soundtrack history through its wider music features.

Where can you listen to the FC 27 soundtrack?

The official soundtrack became available ahead of launch through Spotify on September 10.

But the more fun approach might be:

Don’t listen to everything beforehand.

Let the game introduce you naturally.

That’s how generations of football fans discovered music in the first place.