Cole Palmer's Twitch Incident and EA Sports FC 27 Reveal

Cole Palmer thought he was just giving the people what they wanted. Instead, he walked straight into EA’s embargo wall.

On Tuesday afternoon, the 24-year-old Chelsea midfielder casually fired up Twitch and dropped into EA Sports FC 27 as if it were already on general release. It isn’t. The global launch is set for September 25, with early access not due to start until September 18.

That didn’t stop him.

For more than an hour, Palmer tore through Ultimate Team packs and jumped into matches, streaming a game the rest of the world is still waiting to touch. Thousands watched. EA watched too.

The stream vanished in an instant. Palmer’s Twitch channel was stripped of all EA Sports FC 27 footage after a copyright request, cutting short his unsanctioned reveal.

Before the plug was pulled, the situation took on a surreal, almost comic edge. EA Sports FC’s official account dropped into the chat mid-broadcast, offering a playful but pointed reminder: "Errr Cole, weren't we going to do this a bit later? We'll be live at 6pm UK!"

The message was clear. The damage was done.

Palmer didn’t sulk. He went straight to Instagram, turning the episode into a running joke. Tagging both Twitch and EA, he posted: "I was only giving the people what they wanted... unban me pls."

On another platform, reacting to a post about his suspension, he simply wrote: "We back soon."

If the ban stung, his in-game rating seemed to bother him even more.

During the ill-fated stream, Palmer discovered his overall had dipped from 87 to 85. He didn’t hide his irritation. "I need a word with EA. They took two ratings off me. I had one leg for ten months last season, what do you want me to do?"

He then zeroed in on his pace, stunned to see himself at 76 and behind Chelsea team-mate Morgan Rogers. "76 pace? I don't know how he's got more pace than me but, EA sometimes, man, they're a bit crazy."

The joke about “one leg” is rooted in a brutal year. Last season, Palmer spent a long stretch on the sidelines with a groin problem and a fractured toe, injuries that wrecked his rhythm and blunted his influence in the opening months of the campaign.

Pre-season Reflections

On Chelsea’s pre-season tour in Sydney, he admitted he pushed too hard, too soon. "The first few months, with me being injured, I just wanted to go out and play, which I probably shouldn't have done," he said. "Obviously, I couldn't play how I wanted to play. It was a bad season, personally, with injuries and stuff, but I feel good now. The seven weeks obviously helped. I'm ready to go again."

He even went abroad in search of answers. "I went to Sweden or Denmark, one of those countries, to see a doctor. We did speak about (surgery), but I didn't end up getting it."

That decision looks justified now. With those problems apparently behind him, Palmer has exploded into the new season. He and Rogers have both already produced four goal contributions in the Premier League, quickly establishing themselves as twin focal points of Chelsea’s attack at Stamford Bridge.

So while his Twitch future hangs in the balance, his real priority is far more tangible. Chelsea have momentum in the Premier League and the Carabao Cup, and Palmer’s form is central to it.

EA can turn off his stream. They can’t mute the way he’s started this season.