EA SPORTS is launching the content offensive for career mode in FC 25. Players can continue the real-life soccer stories at different points in time and write alternative endings
On January 26, Jürgen Klopp caused a quake: The German coach announced his departure from Liverpool FC at the end of the season. After almost nine years and great successes, the crowd favorite left the traditional club, which he had led back to the top of England and Europe. Reds fans were dreaming of the perfect ending shortly after the announcement. After all, LFC was in the running for four titles. Instead of a treble or even a quadruple, it was only the EFL Cup – which is where the EA SPORTS FC 25 career mode comes in.
Not necessarily to Klopp’s departure from Liverpool, but to the idea of “What If?”. And it’s even based directly on real-life events: With the new “Live Start Points” and “Snapshots” functions, the soccer season of a club or professional can be continued virtually in career mode.
Klopp’s perfect farewell, Girona’s sensational title
Another example: FC Girona sensationally led La Liga shortly before Christmas 2023. Despite strong performances, it wasn’t enough in the end. In the career mode of FC 25, it will be possible to take over such a club in the exact week in which it was still in the place of the sun – to continue the run and crown a surprise champion
“So far, the career mode has been released on day one and then hasn’t really changed,” says Pete O’Donnell, Game Design Director for FC 25. That’s set to change with “fresh content throughout the year”. There will be a corresponding slider in “Live Start Points” for selecting the week. It should be possible to see the current status of each club directly – how is the club currently doing in the various competitions?
28 Competitions for Bundesliga and Champions League
But that’s not the only thing shown in the “Live Start Points”: Points, goal difference, transfers, players’ form, injuries, suspensions, points deductions. All these values and factors are taken from real soccer. A total of eleven national leagues are available – including the Bundesliga, Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1. 17 cup competitions can also be played, including the Champions League and Women’s Champions League, according to EA SPORTS.
“Snapshots” for the really big soccer stories
For some big narratives, the week-by-week option in “Live Start Points” is not enough for the developer. Klopp’s farewell tour or Jadon Sancho’s rehabilitation mission on his loan back to BVB are examples of storylines that EA SPORTS would like to highlight more prominently – via so-called “snapshots.”
However, neither “Live Start Points” nor “Snapshots” will be available at the launch of FC 25. The features will be integrated into the new game at a later date. “To ensure that we have content and that the leagues are already underway,” explains Producer Andreas Wilsdorf. This measure does not seem entirely plausible, as all of the top 5 European leagues are already starting the season more than a month before the release date on September 27th
