The Red Bull Wings Cup is a new global EA Sports FC 27 competition launching alongside the release of the game. This new collaboration between EA Sports and Red Bull was celebrated with a launch event we got the chance to attend at the offices of the Belgian Pro League.
EA Sports, It’s in the game
The event gave us a chance to play EA Sports FC 27 alongside a bunch of fellow media and influencers. Even a few professional football players featured in the game, such as Ilias Sebaoui and Maxime Busi, attended the event. With more than 15 screens scattered around the offices, there were plenty of opportunities to find out whether the skills and game plans from previous years would still work. For those brave enough, there was even the option to play on a gigantic screen while everyone else watched and judged.
Red Bull Wings Cup
The event revolved around the Red Bull collaboration and, more specifically, the Red Bull Wings Cup. This international competition is open to anyone aged 18 or older. You can enter through the game via the Tournaments tab by joining the “Red Bull Wings Cup: Open League”. If you manage to make it through the tournament and become a national champion, you’ll earn the opportunity to travel to Miami and compete against players from around the world in both in-game matches and real-life football challenges at Inter Miami’s stadium.
Special events will also be held at universities around the world, offering students a secondary route towards the finals. I did find out that not every country will host these university events, though, so be sure to check the official Red Bull Wings Cup website for more information on what is available in your region.
Limited Edition Red Bull Can
Another important announcement was the new way of earning in-game content through Red Bull products. On the limited-edition Red Bull Wings Cup cans, you’ll find a QR code that takes you to a website where you can enter the unique code found underneath the pull tab. After linking your EA account, you’ll receive in-game rewards such as extra kits, loan players, and Season Points. Although the cans are marketed as limited editions, they are expected to remain available throughout the game’s yearly cycle. Rewards are also limited to four code redemptions per account, so there is no need to buy up the entire supply.
Getting back to form
During the event, I spent most of my time playing Kick Off matches with several different teams to get a feel for the game. I wanted to test out the new “Grounds” mode, but sadly the build presented to us did not allow us to try it yet. Luckily, I now have the full game at my disposal and will soon deliver a full review where I’ll focus more closely on everything FC 27 has to offer.
For now, I can say that the gameplay felt just as smooth as before. If you’re like me and played a lot of the previous version, your muscle memory will quickly kick in, and you’ll be rustling up some great goals in no time. I also noticed a new addition to corner kicks and free-kick routines that gives you more control over the players waiting inside the box. I couldn’t quite figure out how to use it to my advantage yet, but that’s something I’ll definitely be taking a closer look at in the upcoming review.
Getting my wings
After consuming ungodly amounts of Red Bull at the event, I feel like I need to go do something active just to get it all out of my system. The Red Bull and vodka combo in particular hit me pretty hard… Maybe I should go do keepy-uppies for a few hours before sitting down with EA Sports FC 27 again.