EA Sports FC 25 launches Sept. 27, and it will arrive as a comprehensive overhaul that adds a new game type, as well as long-requested features and upgrades in existing modes of play.
FC’s staple Career mode will see a slew of significant changes, led by the addition of a women’s career that can cross over to a career coaching in a men’s league. A new 4-on-4, pick-up-and-play mode called Rush will take the place of the less-loved Volta Soccer, and has a presence in both Career and online play.
And the entire project is served by something the developers call FCIQ, which is a new approach to tactical gameplay that allows players greater depth in managing their side, even coaching players up to newer roles if they so choose.
These are the major changes and introductions:
Rush
Already outed by leaks, Rush is EA Sports FC 25’s new pick-up-and-play mode, comprising teams of four (with AI goalkeepers) who sprint to the ball for the first touch, then press the other side throughout a quick match that is meant to be as social as it is fun. Rush will be present in Ultimate Team, in the online group-up Clubs mode of multiplayer, and even in Career, where it is a chance to evaluate up-and-comers on your club’s youth academy.
Tactics
EA Sports FC 25 leans harder into the tactical nature of soccer. Rather than a D-pad choice of five options, ranging from “all-out” to “park the bus,” players can now specify the role they want their stars to perform at an individual level, and not just in-game, but within the larger player management structure of the Career mode.
“FCIQ” as this system is called, incorporates the Opta football data that company collects and which major professional clubs use to evaluate their performers, then translates it to different styles of play on the pitch according to the user’s preference. This has been seen in the past two years with the old FIFA/FC series “Hypermotion” technology, drawing on analytical data as well as captured video that EA Sports has placed at matches in top leagues in Europe.
Now it comes together as a chance to direct player behavior, as a manager would, and if that footballer is unaccustomed to the new role assigned him, coaching them into it, rather than managing around their take-it-or-leave-it traits.
Career
EA Sports FC 25 will deepen its career suite with the inclusion of a full-fledged women’s soccer career path, which can even cross into the men’s game if a player retires and goes on to coach elsewhere. Career in EA Sports FC 25 will also see playable youth academy events, helping virtual managers understand the capabilities of the up-and-comers in their club’s pipeline.
Additionally, Career will be supplemented in a live-service way with starting points that begin mid-season, and let players take over — as player or manager — from a real-world inflection point, such as a player transferred or a manager leaving. Starting points will be updated on a weekly basis in EA FC 25’s career, with special developments available as “snapshots” from which players may continue or rewrite history.
EA Sports FC 25 launches Sept. 27 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbpx One, and Xbox Series X.
