EA Is Making an Open World Football Game

Electronic Arts is developing an open-world American football game under the codename Project Gridiron, two senior company officials have confirmed. The project is intended to introduce a new social concept to the publisher's sports lineup, although many details remain unclear, including whether Gridiron will be a standalone game or merely a more ambitious "experience," a term EA used several times when describing it.

The first mention of Project Gridiron surfaced in an October 21 letter to EA's employees outlining the group's first major portfolio reset since the company's $55 billion acquisition by a consortium led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners was completed in early August 2026. The changes include the closure of BioWare and cancellation of Mass Effect 5, a plan to run fewer simultaneous large-scale single-player projects, and a pause on The Sims project codenamed Project Lotus. EA is also shrinking the team behind Skate, while devoting more resources to a separate The Sims project codenamed Project Evergreen.

EA's Project Gridiron May Not Be a Standalone Football Game

The October 21 letter, penned by C-suite executives Cam Weber and David Tinson, describes Project Gridiron as a "brand-new, social-first open-world experience" being developed by its American football team. The company announced no platforms, release window, business model, or gameplay structure, and its use of "experience" rather than "game" leaves the question of the mysterious project's distribution wide open.

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A separate report from Insider Gaming claims that Project Gridiron has been in development "for a few years," while raising further questions about whether it will launch as a full game. The experience is said to have been developed alongside The Grounds hub for EA Sports FC 27. Much like that mode, Project Gridiron could function similarly to The City from the NBA 2K franchise. If so, future entries in both the Madden NFL and College Football series could potentially incorporate it in some shape or form.

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Looking at EA's current portfolio, The Grounds offers the clearest indication of how such a system could work in practice. The EA Sports FC 27 hub supports up to 100 players across three districts, allowing them to move between social spaces, spectate matches, join small-sided games, and develop their created Pros through The Grounds' Amp progression system.

EA Is Expanding Its Sports Portfolio While Cutting Elsewhere

Project Gridiron is one of several sports initiatives receiving fresh investment under EA's revised strategy and new ownership. Weber and Tinson also announced that a new Fight Night is in pre-production, confirming earlier reports about the boxing series' return more than 15 years after Fight Night Champion. EA says the revival will draw on expertise from its fighting sim teams, returning another dormant sports IP to the limelight as the company reduces its exposure to single-player projects.

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