The Big EA Sports FC 25 Preview: Career Mode Update, Tactical Overhaul, FUT Tweaks, and More

EA Sports FC 25, the latest instalment in EA Sports‘ football simulation series, has been officially unveiled, featuring England wonderkid Jude Bellingham as this year’s cover star. The game brings significant updates, including a major overhaul to the career mode, a Football Manager-style tactics system, and numerous tweaks to the FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) mode. Here’s a comprehensive breakdown of what to expect from EA Sports FC 25.

FC IQ: A Tactical Revolution

One of the most notable changes in EA Sports FC 25 is the introduction of FC IQ, a new tactical system designed to revolutionize how players manage their teams. Thomas Caleffi, EA Sports’ match experience producer, described it as the “most significant change to tactics in over a decade” and a “beyond massive gameplay change.”

Role-Based System

The new system replaces the old work rates with a role-based system that determines players’ responsibilities and movements on the pitch. Players are assigned specific roles, such as Playmaker, Box-to-Box, Half-Winger (Mezzala), Holding, and Deep-Lying Playmaker, with focuses like Balanced, Attack, or Roaming. This change allows for more nuanced and realistic player behaviours, akin to the roles and duties seen in Football Manager.

Each player has a familiarity rating for different roles, with three levels: base familiarity, Role+, and Role++. This rating impacts their performance in those roles, encouraging players to use their squad strategically. For instance, a player like Erling Haaland might naturally excel as a Poacher but could be trained to perform effectively as a False 9 through regular practice sessions.

Team-Wide Tactics

In addition to individual roles, FC 25 introduces new team-wide tactics presets, such as Tiki-taka and Gegenpressing, which can be adjusted on a 99-point scale for various tactical elements like passing directness. A new code system allows players to share their tactics across console platforms easily, making it simpler to experiment with different strategic approaches and share successful strategies with friends.

The game also features “smart tactics,” which offer real-time tactical suggestions and adjustments during matches. Players can bring up tactical options using the D-pad and initiate custom tactical plans. The new commentary system reacts to these changes, adding another layer of immersion. This allows for a more dynamic and responsive gameplay experience, as players can adapt their flight strategies to respond to the evolving situation on the pitch.

Career Mode: A Proper Update

After years of player requests, EA Sports has finally given Career Mode a significant update. This year’s game introduces “live start points,” allowing players to begin their careers at specific points during the season, reflecting real-world football events.

Live Start Points and Snapshots

Live start points let players join a club mid-season during key moments like relegation battles, derbies, or managerial changes. These scenarios, called “Snapshots,” include all relevant details from the real-world season, such as injuries, goals, and form. Players can jump into these live starts in both manager and player modes, providing a richer and more immersive experience that closely mirrors the actual football season.

Youth Player Training and Scouting

Career Mode now includes youth player training through Rush mode games and significantly improved youth models. The game also features EA Sports Cranium, a machine-learning system that creates more realistic player faces. Scouting has been expanded to cover over 160 countries, with more granular search options for specific roles.

Training young players is more interactive and strategic, allowing managers to develop future stars more effectively. The expanded scouting system also means that players have more opportunities to discover hidden gems from around the world, adding depth and variety to squad building.

Ultimate Team: Small Tweaks, Big Impact

While not as revolutionary as the other updates, Ultimate Team (FUT) has seen several notable improvements.

Storage and Menu Navigation

FUT now offers increased storage for duplicate untradeable player cards, with up to 100 slots available. The menu navigation has also been streamlined, allowing players to store duplicates directly from the Squad screen and access them through a dedicated SBC storage tab.

Evolutions and Customization

The Evolutions feature, introduced last year, now allows for more player evolutions, reducing the scarcity of evolved cards. Players can also customize card colours and visuals, providing a more personalized and engaging experience.

Competitive Changes

Competitive play has been adjusted with the decoupling of Friendlies and Rivals, leading to more varied matchmaking. A new points-based system for weekly rewards has been implemented, along with the return of relegations in Rivals mode.

Single Season Pass

A single-season pass now works across all game modes, including Career Mode, Ultimate Team, and Clubs. This system ensures that progress in one mode contributes to the overall season pass, with some objectives being mode-specific. This integration allows players to earn rewards more consistently, regardless of their preferred game mode.

Rush Mode: The New Play Experience

Rush, a new “play experience,” replaces and combines Volta and Pro Clubs. It will be available in all FC 25 modes, including Ultimate Team, with live events and activities offering additional rewards. This mode aims to bring a fresh and exciting gameplay experience, combining elements from various game modes to create a unique and dynamic playstyle.

Visual and Mechanical Tweaks

EA Sports FC 25 also includes various visual and mechanical updates to enhance the overall experience.

Visual Enhancements

The game features improved player faces through EA Sports Cranium, HyperMotion V technology for more realistic lower body movements and new weather effects that impact gameplay. Players will also have the option to choose between enhanced visuals and resolution modes. These visual enhancements contribute to a more immersive and realistic gameplay experience, making the game feel more lifelike.

Goalkeeper and Defensive Mechanics

Goalkeepers now have new playstyles, such as Footwork and Deflector, while defensive mechanics include the Professional Foul, allowing players to intentionally foul opponents to stop counter-attacks. These new mechanics add depth to defensive gameplay, providing players with more tools to control the flow of the game and prevent goals.

Dribbling and Skill Moves

Dribbling has been refined for smoother 180-degree turns, and “blind” passes are now less accurate. Five new skill moves have been added: toe drag stepover, big feints, step over the ball, heel nutmeg, and drag turn. These additions give players more options to outmanoeuvre opponents and create scoring opportunities, enhancing the overall gameplay experience.

EA Sports FC 25 promises to be a groundbreaking update for the series, with significant changes to tactics, career mode, and Ultimate Team. The introduction of FC IQ and live start points, along with numerous visual and mechanical tweaks, set a new standard for football simulation games. Fingers crossed as we await the release to see how these changes impact our gaming experience.

This preview was derived from Eurogamer‘s visit to EA Sports in Vancouver.