MKAU Gaming was invited to an exclusive producer showcase for Electronic Art’s upcoming title EA Sports FC 25, which is a yearly drop of the current football series from what we could see is going to be absolutely awesome with what is coming and the attention to detail that has been put into this year’s title. Football fans around the world, time to strap your boots on and get settled in for this one. The first thing mentioned in the event was the upcoming cover athlete, Jude Bellingham who is the #5 midfielder for Real Madrid CF and is the youngest athlete to be on the cover to date, being 21 years old he has a massive future ahead of him with his track record so far. If you get the Ultimate Edition you will see some familiar faces sitting next to Jude Bellingham but I’ll let you find that out as I was super excited when I got to see it.

Returning players will notice VOLTA is being removed from EA Sports FC 25 but it’s being replaced by a brand new game mode known as “Rush”, this is not a standalone feature, it’s being built into all the game modes and the developers are pumped for it as it will give you a quicker more hands-on experience. They have imported the gameplay mechanics from normal game modes so it will feel like you’re playing the same game but with some awesome additions and a few minor changes. Rush is a 5v5 game where there are four onfield players and one goalkeeper, with an adjusted pitch size and perfect positioning so you can ensure you are hitting the ball more times than you would in a standard game.

Something I was super keen about is that EA has partnered up with NIKE and built the NIKE Airzoom Arena which is based on NIKE Mercurial Cleats in its design. There are some awesome drone shots and shows from the stadium and as mentioned before, there have been some great new additions with the new kick-off where the ball shoots from the side of the stadium and each team needs to run in to get it first which should make for some fun. They’ve also added something called a “Blue Card” which is when the referee decides you will be sent from the field for one minute to think about your actions. They’ve also brought in a super special commentator but I’m going to leave that to you to find out who that is when the game drops.

The developers brought Hypermotion Technology in the previous title and has now been overhauled into something called “FCIQ”, which will modernise tactics and positioning on the field which adds more authenticity and variety in gameplay. It’s been the biggest update to how the game runs in over a decade which they have promised will feel like a new game. FCIQ is bringing real-world data into the game so something you saw on TV could be pushed into the game through the system. Adding more authenticity to the game gives the players more control of the game and the players in the game. The developers mentioned that calling this update massive is an understatement. FCIQ is the main foundation of this title and will continue to update and make the game more fun for everyone.

How EA Sports FC 25 plays is not the only thing we can expect to be updated, the developers talked heavily about Career Mode in this year’s title with Live Start Points which we are starting to see in more and more sports games now, it follows the current season or current on-goings in sport so you could have someone leave a team and you will actually find that updating in the game too, and you could also keep track of real-life stats which for football fans will be a great feature being added. Women’s Football is making a massive impact this year and they are pushing it hard to show how well women are doing in football and how much of an impact they make on the game, you can play a full career mode in the women’s league now and again will be followed with the new Live Start Points.

The one I was most interested in was Career with Icons so you could play career mode with someone from Andrea Pirlo, down to David Beckham, or even Ronaldo, to Kelly Smith, which is something else we are seeing more in sports titles now, bringing legends of the game back for people to be able to play as some legends of the game. The last thing developers were pushing hard was Youth Academy, so you can scout some younger players or even play as them if you desire, so you can go back to your youth and play football from the roots of where the game starts. I’m super eager to see career mode this year and these huge updates coming to make the immersive value of the game higher.

You will notice the players have never looked so good before with the new Cranium Technology that EA has been playing around with, the characters have not looked so real and how the players will move looks like it would on TV. The developers can upload a photo of the player and this system will reconstruct them into the game, they showed us some comparisons and I was super impressed, they said you could spend enough time in the create a player screen and make someone that looks identical to yourself, that is how good this system is.

Ultimate Team made an honourable mention as it’s one of the most popular game modes and they have said players have never had so much control of Ultimate Team in the past as to what there going to have now. The biggest thing I was super keen on is that you can scout people from the Youth Academy for your team, find the player who is perfect for your club and train them to where you need them to become the next G.O.A.T. in football. RUSH is also being added to Ultimate Team which has been said to be some great fun for people and something quick that they can jump in and get involved with.

The developers are excited about this year’s title and they’re keen to show us more. I’m excited to get my hands on this year’s title and from what the developers have shown us we are allowed to talk about it looks promising.

Written by: Hayden Nelson