A new financial report from EA provides an exciting look at how the first crisis in EA FC 25 was overcome in January. MeinMMO author Thomas Dummer has examined what EA did better at the beginning of the year and derived 4 measures that could also save the struggling TOTS.
What is this financial report? EA Sports has officially published the revenue figures for the fiscal year 2025 on its own website. A special focus was placed on the 4th quarter for the period from January 1 to March 31, 2025. In this, the following highlight regarding FC 25 was emphasized:
- “At EA SPORTS FC, player monetization increased double digits, starting with the gameplay update in mid-January.”
This was the situation in FC 25 until mid-January: Up until January, there was a lot of criticism from players. The community was dissatisfied with the bumpy gameplay and had already turned away from FC 25 in the first months after release.
In response, EA implemented a comprehensive gameplay update shortly before the Team of the Year (TOTY) and strong content offers, ultimately leading to the player monetization being doubled again. Even at that time, many FC 25 fans agreed that EA had previously hit them where it hurt the most by turning away from them.
That’s why the TOTS must now be saved: Nearly 4 months have passed since the TOTY. Many fans and experts agree that the traditionally huge hype surrounding the Team of the Season (TOTS) was completely gone just 2 weeks after the start of the TOTS event in FC 25.
This is also reflected in the following post on Reddit:
We find ourselves at the same low point in terms of general sentiment, where we were just before the TOTY started in January. MeinMMO author and FC expert Thomas Dummer has taken a closer look at the measures for the change in mood for the TOTY and has 4 suggestions for changes that could still save the TOTS.
4 Changes to still save the TOTS in FC 25
1. Change: Improve gameplay
In response to the ongoing gameplay criticism and the resulting drop in revenue, FC 25 received a comprehensive update that, according to experts, dramatically improved the game in mid-January:
- Core elements of gameplay, such as passing, shooting, defending, and dribbling, were improved.
The update was mostly received positively by the community. Even though the game still has its problems here and there, there are mainly 2 aspects of gameplay that repeatedly cause great discontent and should be changed:
- The game suffers from a too-static meta that only allows casuals a OP tactic in FC 25 to succeed. Moreover, the focus is too heavily on the PlayStyles, which completely overshadow ratings and stats in FC 25.
- A long-standing problem is the servers and connection quality. This especially makes the player experience feel different in nearly every match during the Weekend League.
While the server problems were somewhat managed during the TOTY time, a expert complained about much worse gameplay shortly after.
2. Change: Adjust evolutions
During the TOTY in FC 25, EA Sports impressed with gifted TOTY defenders and a free icon of Zinedine Zidane, each of which could be developed into strong players in the evolutions (EVOs).
At this point, we have hardly any evolutions that can keep up with the strongest TOTS cards. Most of them are even paid and therefore deter many players.
Looser requirements for the EVOs and more free offers would certainly inspire more players for the feature that is actually popular. Occasionally, EVOs could still be offered that can be purchased for a price (coins or FC Points). However, these would also need to be worthwhile and guarantee PlayStyles/stats that can keep up with strong TOTS cards.
3. Change: Incorporate strong SBCs for grinding
For the TOTY, EA surprised many fans with a strong Squad Building Challenge (SBC) that, according to fan theory, promised the occasional TOTY card in the long run. This SBC could be grinded infinitely, allowing countless hours to be invested into crafting.
Such worthwhile upgrade packs, which are available without limits, are completely lacking for the TOTS. While there is a constantly repeatable league upgrade SBC, the chances of actually getting strong TOTS are extremely low.
This is also shown by an experiment from the content creator Smexy. He only pulled one TOTS worth over 100,000 coins from 100 upgrade packs. You can watch the highlight video on YouTube at the following link: 100x PREMIUM UPGRADES for the PREMIER LEAGUE TOTS
4. Change: Upgrade rewards in Champions and Rivals
A well-known streamer has already explained why above all the poor rewards of the Weekend League ruin the TOTS for him. The incentive to even play competitive modes is too low when you never have the chance to draw the best cards.
The Team of the Season is the last major promo before FC 25 comes to an end and all players await the new FC 26. Therefore, EA Sports should give the community the opportunity to access strong TOTS cards through better rewards from FUT Champions or Division Rivals to truly build an ultimate team at the end.
The 4 changes could provide the impetus to attract more fans and streamers back to the Team of the Season in FC 25. Whether EA Sports will respond to the demands of their community once again remains to be seen. That players are not error-free is shown by the following story: TOTS in EA FC 25: Player loses 750,000 coins due to a typical mistake
