When was the EA FC 25 release date? Now heading into the second year of the EA FC era, the legendary soccer game series is going to have to continue building on the foundations to remain the top dog. After all, with games like UFL and FIFA’s new enterprise set to challenge its premiership, EA may have solid competition on the pitch.
While EA FC 24 did introduce its Hypermotion motion capture tech and a shinier iteration of the Frostbite Engine, these iterative upgrades to one of the best soccer games were expected. While EA seldom rocks the boat when it comes to major changes year to year, EA FC 25 has got a few new tricks up its sleeve – a subtle evolution for the multiplayer game. Here’s everything you need to know about EA FC 25, including its original release date, trailers, and gameplay changes.
EA FC 25 release date
EA FC 25 was released at 9pm PT on Thursday, September 26, and 12am ET / 5am BST on Friday, September 27, 2024. Early access for those who preordered the Ultimate Edition on PC began at 9pm PT on Thursday, September 19, and 12am ET / 5am BST on Friday, September 20.
For nearly 20 years, EA has more often than not opted to drop its next soccer game iteration on the last Friday of September – a cadence it once again committed to with this year’s game. Before the big reveal, a report from reliable leaker ‘billbil-kun’ got the date spot on. EA had also confirmed that EA FC 25 would be released before the end of September in its 2024 financial results report back in May.
As is tradition, early access was on the cards for those who stumped up the extra cash for the Ultimate Edition of the game. EA FC 25 followed the precedent set by last year’s game by offering up a lengthy seven-day early access period, which began on Friday, September 20, 2024. EA play members can access to a ten-hour trial for the game, while EA Play Pro members on PC get unlimited access to EA FC 25.
EA FC 25 trailer
The first EA FC 25 trailer was the official reveal trailer that aired in mid-July 2024. In typical EA fashion, the trailer is composed of in-engine footage. During the trailer, the new Rush mode (more on that later) is teased alongside the revamped tactics and positioning system, FC IQ, as well as a glimpse at some of the EA FC 25 heroes. The trailer uses a remixed version of Radiohead’s ‘Everything In Its Right Place’ – a top-tier tune.
EA FC 25 gameplay
FC 25’s gameplay is much of the same as last year’s game – no surprises there. However, it does have a few new and improved tricks up its sleeve. For example, player roles have been simplified and condensed into the new FC IQ system that should hopefully make tactics more impactful. Additionally, FC 25 custom tactics codes now exist, allowing you to quickly share your perfected squad layout with friends and followers alike.
EA’s also added new goalkeeper PlayStyles, including the Deflector+ PlayStyle showcased in the gameplay deep dive above. This makes it much easier to differentiate between a serviceable keeper and a world-beating one.
EA FC 25 editions
EA FC 25 has two editions – Standard and Ultimate. There was also a limited-time pre-order bonus. If you pre-ordered either edition by August 20, you received an untradeable Hero or Icon from the Greats of the Game campaign in FC 24’s Ultimate Team, alongside an untradeable Hero in FC 25’s Ultimate Team that will get a ‘Prime’ upgrade in November.
As previously mentioned, only the Ultimate Edition of the game provided early access to the game, meaning players had to cough up if they wanted to get ahead of the curve in Ultimate Team, or simply couldn’t wait for launch day. Here’s what you get in each EA FC 25 edition:
Standard
- EA FC 25 base game
- FC 25 Ultimate Team Player Loan Item
- Ambassador Loan Item
- Clubs PlayStyles Slot
- 250,000 Clubs Coins
- Player Career Personality Points
- 3 Icons in Player Career
- 5-star Coach in Manager Career
- 5-star Youth Scout in Manager Career
Ultimate
- EA FC 25 base game
- FC 25 Ultimate Team Player Loan Item
- Ambassador Loan Item
- Clubs PlayStyles Slot
- 250,000 Clubs Coins
- Player Career Personality Points
- 3 Icons in Player Career
- 5-star Coach in Manager Career
- 5-star Youth Scout in Manager Career
- Untradeable Ultimate Team Hero Player Item
- Untradeable Ultimate Team Player Item for EA FC 24 (not on Switch)
- Up to 7 Days Early Access
- 4,600 FC Points (3,850 FC Points on Switch)
- Player Evolution Slot
- Early Access Rush Rewards
EA FC 25 cover
On July 15, the day after the Euros 2024 final, Jude Bellingham was revealed as the EA FC 25 cover star. The $112m man lit up world soccer last season, winning La Liga, the Spanish Super Cup, and the Champions League in his debut season with Real Madrid.
Having notched an impressive 23 goals in 42 appearances at club level, Bellingham headed into this year’s European Championship as one to watch. England’s more conservative brand of soccer saw them struggle throughout the tournament, relying on moments of individual brilliance such as Bellingham’s unbelievable last-minute equalizer against Slovakia on the way to reaching their second consecutive Euros final.
A big game player of the highest caliber, Bellingham is very much in the elite tier of soccer stardom, matching the likes of new Madrid teammate Kylian Mbappé and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland.
EA also revealed the EA FC 25 Ultimate Edition cover on the same day, featuring five of soccer’s most iconic stars past and present: Aitana Bonmatí, David Beckham, Gianluigi Buffon, Jude Bellingham, and Zinedine Zidane. Surrounding the group, you’ll find a mixture of domestic trophies including the league cups from La Liga, Serie A, and the Premier League, as well as international gongs.
Most notable, of course, is the coveted Champions League trophy — an accolade won a collective six times between them. Bonmatí leads the charge, having won three of the last four WCLs with Barcelona. Meanwhile, Beckham, Bellingham, and Zidane have one apiece.
EA FC 25 Rush mode
The new EA FC 25 Rush mode may be EA’s worst-kept secret considering how much info on it leaked. Replacing the unpopular Volta, Rush sees you take a player from your FC Ultimate Team and put them into a five-a-side game, played on a smaller pitch.
Naturally, the rules of the games are slightly revised to accommodate the smaller pitch:
- Race-to-ball kickoff
- Blue card (sin bin) instead of red – players return to the pitch faster if the opposition team scores
- Offside rule applies only in attacking third
- No fixed positions for players
- Penalties are dribble 1v1s against the keeper
- Zero fatigue
Ultimate Team isn’t the only mode Rush has been integrated with, either. Clubs, Career Mode, and Kickoff are also able to tap into it. Most exciting is the way you can use Rush to develop youth players in career mode, allowing you to personally push their growth in smaller, quicker games.
EA FC 25 Clubs
Clubs has had quite the revamp coming into EA FC 25. Not only has relegation returned to the fray – it might be time to fix that win-loss record – but there are a slew of new ways to make your club feel more cohesive.
The headline feature here is the Clubhouse, a brand-new social space that will see your fellow clubmates appear in a locker room decked out in your team’s colors. And the identity building doesn’t stop there.
Clubs progression has also had a shake-up, with the introduction of club facilities like weight rooms and staff like equipment managers that can be upgraded or hired to give the whole team a tidy stat boost. Facilities can be upgraded from a one-star to a three-star rating, with each star enhancing two attributes for the squad. As you can imagine, you’ll need the right facilities to upgrade the right stats – a running track for sprint speed and stamina, for example. You can read more on what’s new to Clubs here.
EA FC 25 Ultimate Team
Ultimate Team has received some highly-requested quality-of-life improvements – chiefly to duplicate storage – alongside a deeper integration with FC IQ. You can get a better idea of how this system works more generally in our EA FC 25 custom tactics codes guide, but specifically for UT the big one is that manager cards now come with preset tactics.
If you want to build an attack with short passes while pressing high defensively, pack Pep Guardiola. If you want to defend more aggressively, then Big Ange Postecoglou is your man – just don’t be Spursy on the pitch…
On top of this, EA’s made Evolutions more flexible. While specific attributes will have maximum limits, you can still use an evo on a player to improve other ones even if that evo is supposed to boost the maxed stat. You can also customize your evo cards with new cosmetics, including borders, animations, and sound effects for the ultimate flex.
Division Rivals has also had a switch-up. Weekly rewards are now dished out based on points instead of wins, meaning your draws finally count for something. As with Clubs, relegation is now in Rivals – at least in Division 1 and 2. Checkpoints no longer exist in these divisions, meaning you can be instantly relegated to the end of the previous division if you lose your first game in the new tier – savage.
Surprisingly, EA decided to squirrel away the tantalizing tidbit that contracts have been removed to the very end of their patch notes post on UT. That’s right, you no longer have to mess around with the consumables just to keep your favorite players on the pitch.
EA FC 25 Career mode
Though Career mode hasn’t gotten the same level of love as EA FC 25’s other modes, there are still some welcome tweaks to the long-standing formula. Most notably, you can finally do your best Joe Montemurro or Emma Hayes impression with the introduction of women’s teams to the mode.
You can also now take Icons like David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane and bang them into your dream team in Icon player career mode. Of course, you’re still more than welcome to establish your own soccer dynasty in player career, which has been embellished with attribute-affecting origin stories – whether it’s rags-to-riches, returning from a near-career-ending injury, or following in the path of a parent.
A final introduction is Live Start Points. These allow you to drop into a manager season part-way through, taking the reins of a club that’s in a relegation battle, or a fallen giant that’s wallowing in a mid-table spot. You can read more about everything new in Career mode here.
And that’s all you need to know about EA FC 25. While you’re waiting to lace up your cleats if you haven’t been able to jump in yet, take a peep at the new EA FC 25 Icons for this year’s game. If you’re worrying about whether your setup can handle it, check out the FC 25 system requirements to put your mind at rest.