EA Sports FC 25

Annual franchises – especially annual sports franchises – are known for the marginal improvements and incremental tweaks they make to their established formula year over year, and unsurprisingly, that’s exactly what EA Sports FC did last year, even if it did change its entire branding from the many, many previous years of being called FIFA. Now, EA Sports FC 25 is right around the corner, and it, too, is promising incremental upgrades- along with some noticeable, more significant changes here and there as well. With the game set to launch not long from now, here, we’re going to go over some key details that you should know about it.

RUSH RULES

We’ve spoken in the past about how FC 25 is replacing Volta with Rush, a new 5v5 mode, which is going to come with an entirely new set of rules. For starters, rather than a kickoff, each Rush game will begin with both teams rushing for a launched ball, while half-times are eliminated in favour of continuous 7-minute matches. Ties now lead to a 2 minute 20 second chunk of golden goal extra time, which will then lead to penalties if needed. In Rush, penalties will be one-on-one chances with a 10-second time limit rather than spot kicks.

RUSH IN CAREER

Rush is going to make its way into ever major mode in FC 25, and that, of course, includes Career Mode. How exactly will that work though? In Career Mode, Rush is going to be tied primarily to training. Your club will host monthly internal Rush matches, which will be your chance to advance and develop youth players. The side that wins will make greater developmental progress, so make sure to pay attention to these Rush games.

RUSH IN ULTIMATE TEAM

In Ultimate Team, Rush will serve as a means for players to engage in some bite-sized multiplayer action for when you’re not feeling up to playing a full 11v11 match. Ultimate Team Rush will task you with picking one player and forming a five-a-side team with up to three friends, though you can also drop in solo if you wish to. Competing in and winning Rush matches will earn you Rush Points, which, in turn, will help you unlock rewards. Speaking of which…

RUSH POINTS

Competing in and winning Rush events in Ultimate Team is how players will earn Rush Points in FC 25, which in turn will help you finish a rotating set of weekly objectives. Hitting pre-defined tiers of Rush Points will help you complete objectives, which in turn will help you unlock a variety of exclusive rewards.

RUSH IN CLUBS

Clubs will feature its own take on Rush. Similar to Ultimate Team, players will compete in multiplayer Rush matches with up to three friends, though two players playing together can also play a game with two AI teammates. Winning Rush matches in Clubs will earn you Player Rank Points, while losing will have the opposite effect, with a higher Player Rank leading to better rewards. Meanwhile, each win will also earn you Victory Points, allowing your club to climb higher up the global leaderboards.

CLUBHOUSE

Let’s stick with Clubs a little while longer, because there’s more to talk about with this mode. Take, for instance, the new Clubhouse, which, as its name suggests, will be a social hub for players to connect and interact with each other. The point here is to make the experience a much more social one, allowing you to physically see what other players are doing in a locker room-style space as soon as you enter the mode.

FACILITIES IN CLUBS

FC 25’s Clubs mode is also introducing the concept of Facilities, which is exactly what it sounds like. Different Facilities will govern different aspects and activities within your club, from recruiting staff and your groundsman to sports science, scouting, fitness, and much more. As you might imagine, different Facilities will have varying effects on your club and your players and their development and coaching, with better Facilities leading to more successful clubs.

RELEGATIONS IN CLUBS

EA Sports FC 25 is also bringing back relegations for Clubs modes. This is something that a good chunk of the player base has been hoping to see, and it’s easy to see why, given how the stakes are instantly raised by the threat of relegation. Clubs that are particularly down in the dumps will have to participate in Relegation Battles, which are one-off matches at the end of particularly bad runs of forms that determine whether your club will survive the drop or be sent down to a lower division.

LIVE START POINTS AND SNAPSHOTS IN CAREER

Live Start Points and Snapshots are among the new features being introduced in this year’s Career Mode. In a nutshell, Live Start Points will allow players to follow along with real-world results, and thanks to constant updates, you’ll be able to jump in at any gameweek across 10 different leagues and 12 cup competitions, with real points tallies, injuries, transfers, injuries, form, and more being recreated. Snapshots will similarly recreate real-world scenarios across the course of the season with ongoing updates, allowing players to take their virtual action closer to the real thing.

ORIGIN PLAYER CAREER STORIES

Moving over to the Player Career side of things, EA Sports FC 25 is introducing origin stories. Your created player will have one of three different starting backgrounds, from a child prodigy with great expectations to live up to, to someone rising through the ranks from humble beginnings, to someone looking to make a grand comeback after recovering from a career-threatening injury. As you might imagine, each origin will bring its own unique challenges and opportunities.

PLAYER CUSTOMIZATION IMPROVEMENTS

Player creation and customization are also expanding in FC 25, thanks to a number of improvements and new features. New face customization options will allow you to sculpt every inch of your player’s face thanks to the game’s new Cranium Technology, while additional options will also include a variety of different accessories, tattoos, celebration animations, running styles, and more.

ULTIMATE TEAM’S ENHANCED MATCHDAY EXPERIENCE

Coming over to Ultimate Team, EA Sports FC 25 is reinventing its matchday experience. For starters, there’s a swanky, entirely new stadium that will serve as the venue for Ultimate Team games, while players can now also expect pre-match sequences in tunnels, changing rooms, and more. On top of that, the game will also feature new broadcast elements and sequences to further glow things up during games.

ULTIMATE TEAM’S COSMETIC EVOLUTIONS

Ultimate Team’s cosmetic customization options are expanding as well, with Player Items being the primary beneficiaries. You will now be able to customize Player Items with new colour options, added animations, a variety of sound effects, and even elements that tout your unique accomplishments within the game. Each player card can be evolved a total of two times, so dedicated players will have plenty to work through.

FC 25 HIGHLIGHTER

New to this year’s game is the FC 25 Highlighter, which is essentially a theater mode. Available only on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, the Highlighter allows you to create, personalize, edit, and share gameplay clips. It will be included in a new hub that will also include returning features like Instant Replay, Match Highlights, and Match Recap.

PC REQUIREMENTS

Running FC 25 on PC will require a decently powerful rig, especially on recommended setting. As per the game’s Steam page, on minimum settings, you’ll require either a Ryzen 5 1600 or an i5 6600k, along with either an RX 570 or a GTX 1050 Ti, and 8 GB of RAM. Meanwhile, recommended settings will require either a Ryzen 7 2700X or an i7 6700, along with either an RX 5600 XT or a GTX 1660, and 12 GB of RAM. On either setting, you’ll also need 100 GB of free storage space.