It’s a great classic for the month of September. As at the start of every autumn, the famous football video game from Electronic Arts that everyone knew under the name Fifa is available for sale this Friday, September 27.
Renamed “EA Sports FC” last year, due to the financial demands considered too high by the sporting body, the football simulation from the American developer which has largely dominated the football video game market for several years is trying to relaunch itself with a 2025 edition offering a new cooperative mode and players reconstituted thanks to AI.
Main new feature, “Rush” mode allows you to play as a single member of a team during 5v5 matches, emphasizing playing with friends, with the aim of “creating something new and refreshing », explained to AFP Sam Rivera, responsible for development, in a series which sometimes struggles to be renewed.
Many modeled faces
To model all of the approximately 19,000 footballers, the development team also used artificial intelligence to recreate the faces of the lesser known, and in particular allows Ligue 1 to have the majority of club starters with their faces transcribed. “We had already scanned the heads of thousands of players, but not all of them,” explained Sam Rivera, via a fairly restrictive process which required taking photos of them one after the other. Thanks to this new technology, footballers playing in lower divisions “will be much more realistic”, according to him.
In terms of licensing, no major additions to note on the list of teams, stadiums or official competitions, except the new formula of the men’s LDC or the appearance of the Félix Bollaert stadium in Lens. Disappointment for Italian football fans who will not benefit from the real names, logos or jerseys of the two Milanese clubs, AC Milan and Inter Milan. EA has still maintained its agreements with numerous leagues and federations, in order to offer 30 championships, 700 official teams and 120 stadiums around the world.
Evolution of tactical choices
A new functionality designed for social networks will make it possible to share the highlights of a match, while tactical choices should have a greater impact on the pitch. A welcome novelty for Marek Piasecki, a 26-year-old Franco-British and long-time fan of the series, for whom “the game tends to favor individual actions rather than team play”, enough to try to give a boost of young to the Electronic Arts series.
The name change was not without consequences for the franchise which nevertheless continued to dominate sales in 2023 with FC 24. Last year 1.48 million copies were sold, compared to 1.75 million respectively and 1.6 million for Fifa 23 and Fifa 22. However, it anticipates a good year for 2025 with an “upward” trend in pre-orders approaching the figures for “Fifa 23”.
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