FIFA 21 Is Making Some Big and Much-Needed Improvements to Career Mode

Today, EA revealed the changes and improvements being made to career mode for FIFA 21. And unlike previous years, EA is actually making some big and appreciable improvements to the forgotten mode. To accompany the information blowout, it's also revealed a brand new trailer providing a more surface-level look at the mode, which can be peeped at the top of the article.

Included in the improvements and changes are player development, match simming, transfers, training, AI, schedules, and match sharpness. Does any of it give the complexity and depth as Football Manager? No, not even close, but it's certainly a big step in the right direction.

Below, you can read an official and quick rundown of the key changes and improvements:

• Interactive Match Sim: A whole new way to play out your season. Jump in and out of gameplay during matches to control the outcome of the match, change the course of a game by controlling key moments like penalties and free kicks, and make changes directly from the sim as you monitor your players' performance levels and the match stats.
• Player Development: Enjoy more control over your players' growth in FIFA 21. New position training lets you turn marauding right backs into right wingers, goal-scoring midfielders into false 9s, and more, while new development plans let you focus your squad's development in the areas you want to match your team's style of play.
• Match Sharpness and Active Training: Get more insight into your squad's performance levels with match sharpness, a new attribute that indicates how likely your players are to perform in the most crucial moments during the course of a game. Increase sharpness with a new Active Training System that gives you the ability to set up group training sessions to improve the likelihood of your strikers putting big chances away, or of defenders making the key tackles that make the difference between winning and losing.
• Schedule Planning: Plan your team's training schedule with a new activity management system. Decide when to train and when to rest during the week as you balance your players' sharpness with morale and fitness to keep your team firing on all cylinders.
• Overhauled Opposition AI: Enhanced opposition AI sees opponents approach games with more intelligence in both defence and attack. New systems create more informed AI decision-making in marking, tackling, passing and dribbling to present you with more challenges during each match, keeping your Career fresh from game to game.
• New Transfer Options: Enhanced transfer realism provides both human and AI-controlled teams with new ways to sign players. Make Loan to Buy offers with future transfer fees to secure new talent for your team, and respond to AI manager-initiated player swap proposals as you look to bolster your squad each transfer window.

For more nitty-gritty details on everything new, changed, and improved in FIFA 21 career mode click here. In terms of Career Mode updates, it's one of the biggest in years.

FIFA 21 is in development for PS4, Xbox One, PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch. It's currently scheduled to release worldwide on October 9.