Immersed in The Journey, fans will live their story on and off the pitch as Premier League prospect, Alex Hunter who is looking to make his mark. Fans will visit new football worlds, meet new characters full of depth, and navigate emotional highs and lows of their unique story arc through decisions off the pitch, their performance on it, and character interactions throughout the 2016/17 season while playing for any of the 20 Premier League clubs.

From a paternal lineage of pro footballers, Alex Hunter starts building his personal legacy in FIFA 17.

Fans will have the power to select the cover star of EA Sports FIFA 17. Four previously-announced ambassadors (James Rodriguez of Real Madrid C.F., Anthony Martial of Manchester United, Eden Hazard of Chelsea FC, or Marco Reus of Borussia Dortmund) will go head-to-head in the official FIFA 17 Global Cover Vote.

All voting will take place on the official FIFA Cover Vote Website beginning today and running through July 19 at 11:59pm PT. Fans can vote online once per day for their favorite player and earn extra votes by utilizing the auto-share feature with the hashtag #FIFA17CoverReward. Fans can also show their support by Tweeting with the athlete’s hashtag (#FIFA17Hazard, #FIFA17James, #FIFA17Martial or #FIFA17Reus). The winner will be revealed on the official FIFA Cover Vote website later in July.

FIFA 17’s four cover contenders – all individually known for their attacking style of play – are also global ambassadors for FIFA 17 and worked with EA SPORTS to influence gameplay and bring innovation to the way players think and move, physically interact with opponents, take set pieces, and use new techniques in attack.

“James, Martial, Hazard, and Reus represent exciting, attacking football and epitomize the innovative play that fans can expect in FIFA 17,” said Nick Channon, Senior Producer for EA SPORTS FIFA. “We’re excited to see fans rally around their favorite players and see who they select as the cover star for the franchise, and the footballer who will represent FIFA 17 globally.”

Complete innovation in gameplay transforms the way players think and move, physically interact with opponents, and execute in attack, putting fans in control of every moment on the pitch. Thousands of new animations and a focus on technology enable FIFA 17 to deliver true-to-life action, balanced gameplay, and excitement in attack. Four pillars of gameplay combine to put complete control in fans' hands by introducing new game mechanics.

• Set Piece Rewrite - New penalties, free kicks, corners, and throw-ins bring creativity and variety in every dead ball situation.
• Physical Play Overhaul - U.S. Patent-Pending Pushback Technology changes the way players physically interact in every situation and introduces a new shielding system that gives fans more control when in possession or battling to win the ball.
• Active Intelligence System - A brand new intelligence system gives players the ability to better define and classify space to make smarter decisions off the ball. Players will utilize several New Run Types like fake, direct, and stunted runs to stay even more active off the ball.
• New Attacking Techniques - New options in attack give fans more ways to create chances and finish in front of goal. Send teammates in with a Threaded Through Passand put exciting goals away with a Driven Finish or Downward Header.

"Fans want control; they want authenticity; and they want a balanced and exciting game that delivers moments where they jump out of their seat and make their friends watch the replay," said Aaron McHardy, Producer. "We took the opportunity of introducing a new engine to look at everything we could do to deliver those moments - we ended up identifying four big areas where we could introduce a level of control we were never able to achieve before."