Every new feature in EA FC 25 Career Mode, explained

Career Mode is set for a long overdue refresh in EA FC 25. While the news of a paid Season Pass certainly riled feathers, the prospects of this mode are brighter: The Pass is unlikely to have any significant impact here, and fans can expect many new features.

Some are gameplay-related, others are about quality of life, and they should add up to a better experience. Here’s every new feature in EA FC 25 Career Mode and their expected impact.

FC IQ

FC IQ, the new EA FC 25 system promises to fundamentally transform tactics and player behavior. It isn’t limited to Career Mode, but clearly, its effectiveness will be crucial to the managerial experience.

FC IQ adds various new player roles to provide flexibility. You want your striker to drop into the midfield often or your full-backs to cut into the middle of the pitch? You can do that now. The new system should also improve upon one of the biggest pet peeves of EA FC fans: player runs. Smarter players with clearer instructions will make more timely runs—at least, in theory.

Coaching and player roles

You can force a striker to play from midfield, but that doesn’t mean he’s suitable for that role. In EA FC 25 Career Mode, players may have a secondary role they are familiar with, but if you wish to rebrand them entirely, you’ll have to go through coaching.

The quality of your coaching staff and the player’s own stats will determine how quickly he adapts. This prolonged process presents more tactical dilemmas: Do you wait and adjust your tactics in the meantime or buy a suitable player for that role instead?

Youth teams

Youth teams have been among the most underdeveloped aspects of Career Mode ever since their introduction many years ago. EA FC 25 looks to make a step toward improving this. The most exciting new addition is the Rush mode, which is also available in Ultimate Team and Pro Clubs. It’s basically street rules soccer, and its usage in Career Mode is one of the most creative decisions to grace the series in a while.

In Career Mode, you can enter Rush mode using your youth team at set points during the season. It’s an exciting substitute for training sessions and a great way to get more involved with your youth squad. You can either play with their current ability or simulate their maximum potential and see what they will become in a few years. Yet another brilliant touch that shows EA can come up with the goods when it wants to.

The introduction of Cranium, a new face model generator for players without face scans, will also have a huge impact on Career Mode. It could be very immersion-breaking when all your young stars look the same or have bushy beards at 15. Even if we tend to value gameplay improvements over visuals, we can appreciate the improved realism in a game mode that gets the closest to mimicking real life.

Women’s Career Mode

Women’s soccer is quickly making strides in EA Sports FC. Last year, female players were added to Ultimate Team. Now, EA FC 25 will bring women’s soccer into Career Mode with its own leagues, players, transfer markets, and more. Unlike FUT, where the ladies share the stage with the boys, Women’s Career Mode will provide an exclusive experience, the first of its kind. It’s an entirely new game mode’s worth of a feature, and we’re happy to finally be able to build a dynasty in both the men’s and the women’s soccer worlds.

Live Start Points

Live Start Points give players the option to start a Career Mode save from a later point of the season, inheriting the success or failure accumulated along the way by their team of choice. This is a cheeky way to make Career Mode more dynamic and could be especially useful to late adopters of EA FC 25.

This feature won’t be available at launch and will be integrated into the game at a later point of the season. This makes less sense than it should. While Live Start Points would be pointless before the start of the season, EA FC 25’s release date is Sept. 27, when all the major leagues will be well underway.

Icons in Career Mode

Playable Icons are coming to EA FC 25 Career Mode, both in Player and Manager Career, and it’s not by accident this time. Icons have only occasionally made it into Career Mode in previous games through glitches, but this year marks their official introduction. Icon versions of Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham, and Ronaldo are part of the EA FC 25 pre-order bonuses, with more players to be added on day one of release.

It’s unclear how Icons will adapt to Career Mode. Age is a tad bit more important than it is in Ultimate Team, so 52-year-old Zidane wouldn’t be as hot of a commodity, even if he is given stupendous stats. This is definitely the most curious new Career Mode feature in EA FC 25 and we can’t wait to see how it is implemented.

EA promising to improve Career Mode is nothing new, but for once, it seems like the changes will actually make a notable difference. Deeper tactical options, playable youth teams, and more believable face models are features players have wanted for years. Live Start Points, the introduction of Women’s Career Mode, and playable Icons add to an impressive package that, if approached correctly, could breathe new life into EA FC Career Mode.