EA Sports FC 25

EA Sports FC 25 is the second installment of the football series that took over the baton from the long-running FIFA brand after EA and the international football federation parted ways in 2023, and on Xbox Series X/S it builds on the HyperMotionV engine, which uses footage from real matches to generate more faithful animations of movement, ball duels, dribbling, and passing between players on the pitch. New to this installment is the Rush mode, a faster variant of small-sided football for fewer players on the pitch, aiming to offer a more fun and accessible alternative to traditional eleven-a-side matches. The career mode continues to let you manage a club and an individual player across seasons, with a reworked system of tactics, individual on-field roles, and a more precise chemistry model between teammates, while Ultimate Team remains the series' most-played online mode, collecting cards and building a dream team from stars of present and past football.

On the new console generation, the smoothness of animations and detailed depiction of stadiums and licensed teams stand out especially, including faithful jerseys, crests, and player faces at leading European and world leagues. The sound design with commentary and grandstand atmosphere, fan chants, and cheers helps convey the feeling of watching a real match live from the stadium, whether it's a domestic league fixture or a major European cup match.

EA Sports FC 25 continues the series' established standard as the most widespread football simulation on consoles, though like previous installments it faces criticism regarding microtransactions in Ultimate Team and the balance of online matches. Still, for football fans it remains the natural choice thanks to the scope of its licenses, the wide range of game modes, and regular seasonal updates to rosters, transfers, and individual player form based on real events on the pitches of Europe and around the world.

Why play it: Thanks to the scope of its licenses and regular roster updates, EA Sports FC 25 remains the natural choice for football fans, despite repeated criticism of microtransactions in Ultimate Team.