Summary
EA Sports FC 25is already causing controversy with its changes to player AI. The next game in theseries formerly known asFIFAis due to be released worldwide on July 15, 2025. Most annual sports video game franchises don’t make many changes in actual gameplay each year - their frequent releases instead serve to reflect yearly changes in the athletic franchises they represent. But they also make incremental advances in presentation, with each game often promising to look, sound, and feel better than the last.
That’s the case forFC 25, which promises across-the-board visual improvements in a recent gameplay deep dive. These include things like realistic body movement, new foul animations, and simulated cloth movement. Butits attempts at realism aren’t always popular, as evidenced by the backlash against its proposed new player AI systems. But in order to understand what’s really got players up in arms, it’s important to look back atFC’s recent history.
EA Sports FC 25 Preview: Unexpected Changes To The Usual Could Be Potent
EA Sports FC 25 looks to bring some large changes to the structure of the yearly sports title, based on preview information revealed.
EA Sports FC 25 Revamps Player AI With FC IQ
How Player AI Is Changing In FC 25
As explained in agameplay deep dive posted on the officialPlayStationYouTube channel,FC 25is making sweeping changes to player AI, mostly within three specific avenues:team tactics, player roles, and smart tactics. Of course, the concept of being able to set a team’s tactics is nothing new, but inFC 25, they’re ostensibly more fluid and accurate than ever. An example given in the video explains how, instead of setting a static 4-4-2 formation and being stuck with it for the rest of a play, it’s possible to direct the team to alternate between 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 as needed.
To work within this more variable structure,players will also be able to set roles fortheirFC 25teammates. They can select from a wide variety of archetypes: things like Inside Forward, Box-to-Box, and Poacher. These roles guide players by explaining what stats their teammates need to be best at to perform well in their assigned positions, and what kind of support they’ll need from the rest of the team.
Custom tactics can also be saved and shared with players worldwide inFC 25.
This all goes hand-in-hand with the newSmart Tactics feature, in which the game provides direct feedback on the player’s choice of formations and roles. If things are going poorly, it might suggest a change in order to help the player gain the upper hand. Smart Tactics also allows for switching formations on the fly, with no more than a press of the D-Pad buttons.
“Just Escaping Relegation”: EA Sports FC 24 Switch Review
EA Sports FC 24 is the best that EA Sports has shown on the Switch, but still falls below what’s available on other platforms.
Is FC IQ Really Enough?
Ultimately, the intended effect is to give players more control over their teams' and teammates' tactics, and make the game feel more accurate to real-life soccer. It also complicates team-building mechanics: instead of simply selecting the highest-rated athlete for each position, players have to consider their teammates' strengths and weaknesses, and decide who meshes best with the current play. Butsome players are concerned that, extensive as these changes might be, they may still not be enough.
In recent years,EA Sports FChas come under fire for its severely flawed player AI. In the X (formerly Twitter) thread announcing the gameplay deep dive, posted by the officialPlayStationaccount, several players sound off about their concerns withFC 25’s proposed AI changes. Perhaps the most common complaint revolves around massive openings in defense. Most matches inFC 24are much higher-scoring than their real-life counterparts, and this is mostly due to their defenders' apparent inability to notice when the goal is open. This has been a persistent issue, and many players aren’t convinced that even extensive AI changes will sufficiently address it.
What’s more, others point out thatEA Sports FC(andFIFAbefore it) makes similar promises every single year. And indeed, last July,FC 24’s deep dive explored possible team formationsand player techniques, making similar promises about improvements to AI and general realism. Although they had different names and worked in different ways, the same old issues persisted nonetheless. The concern is understandable, as history seems to be repeating itself.
10 Best PlayStyles in EA Sports FC 24
PlayStyles are the latest addition to Ultimate Team in EA Sports FC 24, giving specific boosts to the top stars reflecting their real life abilities.
Ultimately, these issues raise some serious questions about the wisdom ofFC’s annual release strategy. It made sense 20 years ago, when the only way to portray the most recent changes in association football was to put out a new game every year. But in the modern age of the patch and the hotfix, there’s not as much of a pressing need, especially considering how incrementally each title’s visuals and gameplay change from the last.EA Sports FC 25has to make a major change to justify its existence, and players aren’t convinced FC AI is it.
Sources:PlayStation/YouTube,PlayStation/X
EA Sports FC 25
EA Sports FC 25 introduces several new features aimed at enhancing both realism and gameplay variety. The newRushmode offers fast-paced 5v5 matches for a more intense and compact experience.FC IQ, a new tactical system powered by real-world data, provides more control over player roles and strategies. With improved AI, enhanced graphics, and more dynamic goalkeeper playstyles, this installment brings the most authentic football experience yet.
