The career mode was once the showpiece of the FIFA series. But it was not just since the switch to EA SPORTS FC that development seemed neglected. Producer Andreas Wilsdorf explains how this is set to change in FC 25.
As a producer, Andreas Wilsdorf is playing a leading role in the FC-25 career mode. kicker eSport
“Career mode still has a very high priority,” says Andreas Wilsdorf in an interview with kicker eSport at gamescom. The German is co-responsible for its implementation for the first time in FC 25. “I was a career mode player for years before I went to EA SPORTS,” says Wilsdorf. He seems genuinely keen to make up for one or two past omissions. But can that work in EA SPORTS FC?
Game sales at Electronic Arts are declining, with almost three quarters of revenue being generated through so-called “live services.” This includes the microtransactions in Ultimate Team, which is why FUT has long been the big draw of football simulations. With the career mode, on the other hand, you can no longer earn money after you have purchased the title. “We should be honest and acknowledge that we haven’t always had good years in career mode,” admits Wilsdorf.
He cites 2019 as an example, when the introduction of the licensed Champions League was the height of his excitement. Currently, however, “the focus is completely different”. One can “finally see again that in FC there is not only Ultimate Team, but also the career mode”. Wilsdorf therefore predicts “the biggest update in years” for FC 25. But how exactly are the players supposed to notice this?
“Nobody has ever done this before us”
Wildsorf sees the three main pillars of improvement in youth football, women’s football and Live Start Points. “There is no other title in the world in which I can play with youth footballers. No one has done that before us,” he says. The idea came from the YouTube videos of 15-year-old Lionel Messi: “Imagine you could try it out for yourself: How does a Messi play at 15? How happy would you be when he is finally ready for the first team’s starting eleven?”
Women’s football, which was already introduced in Ultimate Team with FC 24, brings “another new component”. Transfers and budgets are “completely different”, which creates new challenges. With Live Start Points, EA SPORTS is not just including a revised match day, but “something that has never been seen in career mode”. The feature is intended to transport the stories that football writes to the virtual pitch – and continue to write them.
A surprise team like FC Girona could be taken over at its peak to actually win the sensational championship. With a dominant team like Bayer Leverkusen was in 2023/24, the fans should be given the chance to complete the unbeaten season in all competitions. “All of these things together give you the feeling that it is a big update,” says Wilsdorf.
Admission as a positive sign?
EA SPORTS has rarely openly admitted to neglecting the career mode in recent years. The new features were usually presented in a stylish manner in the weeks before release, and they often sounded promising on paper. However, the developer was rarely able to translate the big words into the game.
As someone who was jointly responsible for the new career mode in FC 25, Wilsdorf would hardly have the idea of expressing doubts about its implementation in advance – even if he himself had them. But the mere admission that in the past there have been some weak changes from title to title gives at least some hope for real progress in the upcoming football simulation.
