EA Sports F1 will not see a full release next year, but rather an expansion of content
It has finally happened, the thing I have been saying for sports games for years now, has finally happened. Electronic Arts have announced that F1 2026 will not exist as a full game, but instead will be a paid expansion to F1 2025, allowing the developers more time to create an even better brand new title for F1 2027.
When the next F1 game arrives in 2027, according to the team it “looks, feels, and plays differently, delivering more gameplay choices.” The expansion in 2026 was described as including new cars, sporting regulations, teams and drivers, basically all the core aspect of the series.
“F1 25 has been an incredible success, fueled by the passion of fans and the energy of the sport. With Formula 1’s momentum on and off the track, now is the perfect time for us to look ahead and build for the future.
We’re fully committed to the EA SPORTS F1 franchise. Our multi-year plan extends this year’s excitement with the 2026 expansion and reimagines the F1 experience for 2027 to deliver even more for players at every level around the world.”
Seeing a sporting game, drop a yearly release just to instead focus on content is what I have been saying should be the standard going forward. Take-Two are the only publisher that do that with their PGA Tour series, with it getting a new game every 2 years and content updates every few months between those.
Each year EA and 2K roll out Madden, FC and NBA and claim how their are widely different to the game the year before, but there is rarely a lot of differences. A lot of the changes come from which player now represents a different club and which stadium or arena, now has a new name.
Giving developers 2 years to produce a full sequel, letting them really dive into enhancements across the board, is what should have been the model from the outset. I am excited that the team that make the F1 games now have the chance to do that and with them having produced a game a year for 17 years in a row, this can only take some pressure off them.
There is no date for when this expansion will release and no date or details for F1 2027, or whatever it ends up being called, beyond the confirmation that it exists.
