Since FIFA 08, Be A Pro, or Player Career as it is now called, has been the standout offline game mode. It allows fans to play through a season as a created or existing player and continue the journey after retiring and becoming a manager. At the time of its first appearance, it was a revolutionary idea and has continued to be heavily featured in every FIFA game since. However, even though certain features were added to the game mode to give it a sense of realism, none of these changes have made a major impact on fans of Player Career.
In recent times, Player Career Mode has been given the same lack of treatment as the other offline modes, as EA continues to pour more attention to Ultimate Team, the main source of income for the game. Fans have been yearning for more changes to Player Career Mode that would give them a unique new experience, and FIFA 23 could deliver this by making significant improvements to the offline mode.
FIFA 22’s Player Career Mode
The latest iteration of FIFA showcased a few changes to the Player Career Mode including the skill tree system that lets fans invest points into improving certain stats of their created player. This system allows for a more geared leveling experience so that fans can create a unique player by focusing on certain stats and avoiding others. The skill tree is a welcome addition to Player Career Mode, but the ease at which fans can attain skill points makes it a broken system that damages the progression within a Player Career playthrough.
While the skill tree does offer fans to tailor the playing style of their created player, the speed at which fans can level up their player and gain more skill points makes the game mode seem more like an arcade game than a simulation. Fans no longer need to spend time in training to improve their players, instead just simulating completed training sessions will level them up at a decent pace. FIFA 23 should focus more on the progression system, as using the training method as the main source of improving stats while having the skill points only boost certain abilities could make the game mode more realistic.
Player Career Progression
The one area where Player Career Mode has suffered the most is giving fans a real challenge to compete for a first-team spot. Usually, a created player will make the first team before the start of the first season, meaning that even though their overall rating is in the low 70s, they are being picked over players with a rating in the high 80s. This removes any sense of progression and does not allow for the natural development of a player as seen in the actual sport.
Fixing this issue in FIFA 23 could completely revitalize the Player Career Mode and make it a more challenging playthrough for fans. Created players should not have a rapid growth rate, even if they are consistently scoring as experience is a big facet of any good player. Including an experience system whereby a created player’s growth improves as they gain more experience would ensure that young talent is used more realistically and that experienced players are placed above them on team sheets.
Created Player’s Begin in The Academy
For many prospective athletes, the first step toward becoming a professional soccer player is to get accepted into an academy of an existing team. This gives these prospects a chance to rise through the ranks or even move on to a different team if they are unable to compete with their academy teammates. It also lets these players compete in youth teams to gain some more playtime and, in turn, experience. This is the missing ingredient that could make FIFA’s Player Career Mode a more realistic and more awarding game mode.
Giving FIFA fans the chance to pick their favorite team should not be taken away. However, higher-rated teams should be harder to progress in, and the expectations set by these teams should be much higher than teams in a lower division or with a lower overall rating. This can give Player Career Mode a better progression system, forcing some players to move to a smaller club and build up their reputation before returning to the biggest competitions.
FIFA’s Player Career Mode should always be more simulation than arcade. In recent titles, the simulation aspect of the game mode has not been the focus. FIFA 23 can finally give fans of the series an in-depth offline game mode that does not get repetitive by making Player Career more challenging. Revitalizing this offline mode could be exactly what EA needs to reassure the fans that future FIFA titles will have a bright future.
FIFA 23 is currently being developed for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.