EA Sports FC 25 Announces Big Updates to Scouting in Career Mode

EA FC 25 is adding a few game-changing updates to the Career Mode Youth Academy.

EA Sports FC 25 launches next month, which means the developers at Electronic Arts have been drip-feeding new information out to the community over the last few weeks. While Ultimate Team remains the focus for EA Sports FC 25, the team claims that this is Career Mode's "biggest update in years." One of the big reasons behind that claim is the team's updates to make scouting and the Youth Academy much more extensive and engaging. While it's still not going to top something like Football Manager in terms of depth, the changes EA Sports FC 25 is making should inject a ton of replayability into the mode.

The first major update is that you'll finally be able to play as your Youth Academy players in trial matches via the new Rush game mode. You'll take five of your young prospects into test games and can either play with them at their current level or boost them up to their full potential to give you an idea of what they'll look like when they make your senior team. Players have been asking about it for years, so it's great to see EA FC 25 finally get it into the game.

The updates go much further than that though. There are now over 160 different countries to scout for youth players. You can scout for up to four specific positions per scout, giving you the ability to really zero in on the players you're looking for. Plus, each nation has its own style of play, meaning your real-world soccer knowledge will help out when it comes to deciding where to send your scouts. It's also worth noting that your youth players will actually look like teens until they advance to the senior team. No more 15-year-olds with full beards and a receding hairline!

Of course, the scouting updates are only a portion of all the changes coming to Career Mode. Players will also be able to start from different real-world-inspired Live Start Points and Snapshots. These won't be available at launch but will be updated throughout the year as real-world games play out. There's also a fully featured women's Career Mode and a ton of new customization options. EA is doing everything it can to ensure players can play EA FC 25 however they want.

EA Sports FC 25 launches on PlayStation, Switch, Xbox, and PC platforms on September 27th. Remember, if you pick up the Ultimate Edition you can hop in seven days early and start on September 20th.