In EA FC 25, the community is currently benefiting from a successful gameplay patch and strong players that you basically get for free. On Reddit, fans believe they have found the reason why EA is being particularly generous at the moment. You can read the details on MeinMMO.
Which strong players are you getting for free right now? In line with the Team of the Year (TOTY), an event that releases the strongest cards currently available in FC 25, EA Sports is feeling generous.
On one hand, you can develop your own TOTY card for free in the evolutions (EVOs), a feature where cards receive upgrades. In the end, you will get a player who can show stats above 80 and thus can at least somewhat compete with a strong TOTY card, which usually costs over a million coins or more.
For more information on how to get your TOTY star, read here: In EA FC 25, you can secure a TOTY EVO star for free – Here’s how it works
On the other hand, at the start of the TOTY, everyone received a special version of the French icon Zidane for free. Players who had already played Ultimate Team before October 31, 2024, were able to further develop this card in the EVOs and ended up receiving an even stronger icon than the base card. And all of it completely for free.
Before the TOTY: Streamers & community praise gameplay update
However, even before the TOTY and before the gifted cards, one of the largest gameplay patches made during a season improved the mood among players.
What kind of update was it? The title update 8, named “Gameplay Refresh,” brought a number of significant changes to the game mechanics:
- Strikers can finally run fast again and escape defenders
- Passes and pass combinations are now successful even without corresponding playstyles
- Good goal-scoring chances lead to more goals due to improved shots
- Defending is once again more in the hands of the players and less controlled by the AI
The patch, which made for a more offensive style of football, was viewed positively by most content creators regarding FC 25. This includes the otherwise very critical streamer NickRTFM, who compared the changes of the update to the feeling of a new game (“FC 25.5”).
In a detailed critique video on the update on his YouTube channel, he even stated that EA had saved FC 25 with the patch. And even in the comments, the community showed a mostly positive sentiment:
- KevRMA2000: “The update is really incredible. I can’t believe EA actually did this. Such a rare W [W for Win, meaning a win, note from the editor]” (via YouTube)
- andreipop4363: “I love this game. I defend and am really rewarded.” (via YouTube)
- Kev2000: “Finally a game where the attacking AI moves, the defending AI isn’t as dominant, and the passing game is relatively good now.” (via YouTube)
Fans suspect ‘painful’ reason behind EA’s engagement
In the past, the development company often had to hear that it placed too little value on community feedback and hardly responded to problems. This seems to contradict EA’s current engagement regarding gameplay patches and gifted, strong players in FC 25.
What reason do fans suspect behind EA’s engagement? In a thread titled: “It seems that a decline in spending and sales was the reason for FC receiving a complete overhaul of gameplay,” some fans seem confident that they have found the reason for EA’s stronger turning toward the community.
User Broken_Pikachu, the author of the post, additionally writes: “Apparently, the free Zidane and other gestures were also part of the declining numbers.” (via Reddit)
He refers to a recently released financial report from EA. In this, CEO Andrew Wilson stated that EA FC 25 “did not meet expectations for net bookings.” According to a report by Jason Schreier on Bloomberg, they were about 300 million dollars short of the targeted sales for FC 25.
Other users also see connections between the declining numbers and the current tendency to accommodate the community more:
- SupplyYourPips: “It’s almost as if it forces the company to change its tactics and sometimes make a better product when it hits them where it hurts more (money).” (via Reddit)
- User Every-Shape4959 sees it more critically: “So the state of the game doesn’t really matter to them as long as the financial numbers look good, which is probably the case every year with FIFA/FC, regardless of the state of the game.” (via Reddit)
Aside from the critical view that EA is engaging more in FC 25 simply because sales figures are not matching, this can be a win-win situation for fans and the company. EA has taken the first steps to get closer to the community with the comprehensive gameplay patch and the free items for the TOTY, which have been mostly positively received by players.
Perhaps players can look forward to more such goodwill in the future. Meanwhile, EA can benefit from rising sales figures due to improved public perception. Since the end of November, EA has been giving out free rewards every Monday:
EA FC 25: Every Monday, as a viewer of the FC Pro Open, you can receive free rewards – Here’s how it works
