EA Sports Skips 'F1 2026,' Will Jump Straight to 'F1 2027'
Codemasters pivots to a 2026 season expansion and a reimagined 2027 release, marking a long-term shift for the franchise.
Summary
- EA Sports canceled the annual F1 26 release, opting instead for a premium content upgrade to the F1 25 base game
- The content update will feature the full 2026 FIA Formula One World Championship and its major rules reset
- This is a “strategic reset” for the franchise, signaling a shift toward a live-service model, with the next full game planned for 2027
EA Sports F1 is breaking its annual-release streak. There will be no standalone F1 26; instead, Codemasters and EA are treating F1 25 as the base for a full 2026 season upgrade.
That 2026 drop is positioned as a premium content update rather than a patch. Expect the full 2026 FIA Formula One World Championship folded into F1 25, with new cars, sporting regulations, teams and drivers that mirror the sport’s next big rules reset. This is more than a scheduling tweak. EA is calling it a “strategic reset for the F1 franchise”, signalling a shift away from copy-paste yearly entries toward longer-tail, live-service style support.
The next full-fat title lands in 2027 as a “deeply authentic and innovative” take on modern Formula 1, built as a more expansive experience with new ways to play. It is being developed in partnership with Formula One Management and all F1 teams, aiming to hit hardcore sim heads and Drive to Survive-era newcomers in the same lap.
Codemasters’ Senior Creative Director Lee Mather stresses that the studio is “fully committed” to the series, framing the extra dev runway as a chance to reimagine how F1 looks, feels and plays for the next era.
For players, the message is clear. F1 25 is not a one-and-done disc. It is the live platform that will carry fans through the 2026 regulation shake-up while EA and Codemasters cook up a ground-up refresh for 2027.
