EA Sports FC 26 is set to bring significant enhancements to career mode, but despite the addition of beneficial new elements like coach changes and genuine gameplay, the aspirations for a true breakthrough have yet to be realized.
In recent years, career mode in EA Sports FC has struggled. While Ultimate Team consistently garnered the most focus, the traditional single-player mode often appeared neglected – lacking innovation, weighed down by past issues, and accompanied by unmet expectations during the frenzied development process.
Nonetheless, the player base is sizable. EA reports that millions engage with Career Mode, many of whom have been doing so for over a decade. With EA FC 26, the developers aim to demonstrate that these players haven’t been overlooked. Expect more realism, increased dynamics, deeper gameplay – along with a new live system that promises to inject vitality. But is this truly a significant renovation or merely a minor enhancement?
Manager Live: Great ambitions, but not universally appealing
The first noteworthy addition is the “Manager Live Hub”: with this feature, EA seeks to liberate career mode from its static tendencies – moving from the familiar club career towards a modular, ever-evolving experience.
Live challenges are crafted to attract both novices and dedicated fans: maintaining league status with point penalties, winning the Champions League with solely German players, transfer bans, or age restrictions – concepts that once belonged to the imaginations of internet forums are now woven into the gameplay as challenges.
The execution pays great attention to detail: objectives, limitations, and scenarios can be combined in countless ways, rewarding players with vintage jerseys or career enhancements. Those who persevere through the tasks can unlock icons and heroes for future careers. Additionally, players can share challenges with friends or compete in globally popular challenges.
However, despite the engaging potential, one lingering question arises: Is there genuine enthusiasm from the community for this? Our intuition suggests otherwise – prompting us to seek opinions.
Career Mode Producer Andreas Wilshoff acknowledges that many players harbor doubts regarding the live service model. The yearning for freedom and individuality is at odds with these set scenarios. Players who prefer to develop their beloved club realistically over the years might opt to disregard the live challenges – or even consider them a distracting irritant.
At last, some dynamism on the sidelines
A primary criticism of career mode in recent times was its inflexibility. Coaching changes? Not feasible. Players who advanced a decade within the game often faced the same circumstances as when they began – a detail that rendered any long-term career implausible.
With FC 26, EA is finally injecting some change into the game: introducing the Manager Market, where AI coaches can now switch clubs – voluntarily, through recruitment, or termination. Players can express interest in available positions based on their performance, philosophy, and alignment with the club’s profile. Suitable clubs are suggested automatically, with the system evaluating reputation, tactical insight, and past achievements.
The outcome is a more dynamic soccer landscape where off-field events also unfold. A coaching shuffle at a rival team leads not just to new personnel on the sidelines, but also tactical shifts, varying transfer targets, and notable impacts on the pitch. Teams adapt their play style because their coaches possess distinct perspectives on the game – precisely what the mode has previously lacked. However, for Career Mode, this is a long-awaited advancement that not only enhances realism but also creates fresh storytelling avenues. Even if many of these stories will exist only in players’ minds.
Gameplay finally given due importance
An often overlooked aspect in discussions about career mode is the gameplay itself. While Ultimate Team emphasizes speed, skill moves, and swift reactions, many career enthusiasts primarily seek realistic, tactical soccer. Until now, there has been a significant disparity, but with FC 26, EA is deliberately working to bridge this gap for the first time.
The new “Authentic Gameplay” mode brings a unique, slower pace to Career Mode. The tempo decreases, tackles become harder, player movements appear more realistic, and ball physics and positioning are prioritized. Rather than focusing on sprinting and skill spamming, the emphasis shifts to space management, build-up play, and strategic choices.
Producer Andreas Wilshoff notes that this distinction was a direct result of community feedback – and a deliberate choice by the team. “Many people express dissatisfaction with the career mode because they find the game feels unreal – yet what they truly refer to is the gameplay,” he mentions. With this new framework, players can now choose: authentic or competitive.
How effectively this operates in practice is yet to be determined.
Despite the impressive presentations surrounding EA Sports FC 26 – featuring developer interviews, studio tours, and an actual soccer session on EA Vancouver’s own compact field – the actual time spent engaging with the game was comparatively restricted.
We were able to experience the authentic gameplay