The official soundtrack from EA Sports was released for the new soccer game, FC 26. The entire list has been dubbed “The Sound of The World’s Game” by EA Sports and can now be streamed on Spotify. Imagine that! The players have been on pins and needles waiting to get their hands on the music they have to sweat to in the new soccer simulation.
Through EA’s social channels was aired the revelation that the soundtrack possesses a huge-name-and-indie community-engaged list. Naturally, Tyler, The Creator will feature with the track “Ring Ring Ring,” so there’s obviously going to be some serious head-bobbing involved. But it is no all about the bigger names; it also has some underground acts that many gamers are excited about.
User Supernova said that they considered the fact big names and indie artists being placed on the same tracklist to be “rad.” They threw a shout-out to the bands Starjunk 95 and Woodcamp, saying that those songs have been in their personal playlist for a whole year, and now they’re happy more people would be able to hear them. That’s exactly how soundtracks are excellent, as they introduce players to music that they would probably never ever discover on their own.
A few reactions, well… ehh. One user said it was a “mid” lineup before they even heard the songs, but they did reserve their final judgment until after hearing them. Someone else said in Turkish that the playlist was “bok gibi,” so guess what, the person was unimpressed for sure. And then there is one disappointed about the lack of Backstreet Boys, which I “totes” feel for;” nostalgia moment.
It’s global by design. You’ve got players spotting Afrobeat with tracks like “Point and Kill” by Little Simz featuring Obongjayar and “Try” by Obongjayar himself. Koffee of the original fusion point for reggae/afrobeat on “The Key to Life on Earth.” This global appeal makes sense considering the game being called “The World’s Game.”
Spanish speakers are making noise over artists Young Miko, Ca7riel, and Paco sneaking through. One fan was so excited about 3ROBI’s inclusion that they just spammed crying-heart emojis; that’s how you know it’s genuine excitement.
In that regard, a gentleman by the name of Jesús Ikari has gone a step further to completely recreate the playlist on both YouTube and YouTube Music for all those not using Spotify Premium. Now there’s a real act of fan service, basically ensuring that every single soul can access their tunes whether they want to pay for another streaming service or not.
Meanwhile, the concern rolls on. A streamer asked for “streamer safe mode,” concerned that YouTube and Twitch copyright strikes would make their VODs mute for infringement. Fair point indeed – probably the worst thing in the world when your content gets messed with because of background music.
Nostalgia’s in there. Others would say it could never be as good as FIFA 14-15, and it never shall be, ouch. That’s the harsh comment, but a good one that shows just how much meaning those older soundtracks hold for people. Someone else said that the leaks were wrong but hoped that the official list would deliver on its promise since the leaked one was truly “a banger.”
Funny split opinions are few at this point. A few have lived without soundtracks for over a decade: “It’s dross” (British slang for garbage), and some cannot play without soundtracks. That is all preference at the end of the day, and EA will certainly remix it every year.
With Jennie from BLACKPINK included on the list, the fans just started dropping love emojis. With that soon followed disappointment that twenty one pilots missed the cut, which just goes to show you can never please everyone with these soundtracks.
Anyway, now it’s up on Spotify from all to listen to and deliberate upon. Whether it will ever claim the older FIFA soundtrack’s legendary status is again questionable. With Tyler The Creator, some banging Afrobeat cuts, and a lot of underground talent, the FC 26 soundtrack really ought to have something for everybody to appreciate. Or meme about until the next one drops.
