Despite rumors and job listings, FIFA 23 won’t include online Career Mode – a feature fans have wanted for some time. However, EA hasn’t ruled it out for the future with EA SPORTS FC.
Football fans have finally had their first look at FIFA 23 Career Mode, and there are plenty of long-requested features being added this time around. Player Career is adding more off-pitch activities similar to NBA 2K, and we’ll be able to play as real-life managers like Jurgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola in Manager Career.
One long-awaited feature still missing from FIFA 23 is online Career Mode, meaning that area of the game will remain a single-player-only experience once again.
Although online Career Mode isn’t on the cards for FIFA 23, the game’s gameplay producer has finally responded to the rumors.
EA “considering” online Career Mode for EA SPORTS FC
At a behind-closed-doors press event, we asked FIFA 23 Gameplay Producer Sam Rivera if an online version of Career Mode was in the team’s plans going forward.
“All of those ideas are definitely being considered,” Rivera explained while hinting that the feature is among many fan requests on their radar. “[Online Career Mode] is one, but for gameplay, we have multiple things. [The community asks] why is there no VAR? There are so many different things.”
Since the FIFA series, and presumably EA SPORTS FC going forward, works on a yearly release schedule, Rivera said that the devs have to be selective about which innovations they add in each new game.
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“We’re definitely considering it, it just becomes a matter of prioritizing every year what the community wants and what our technology allows us to deliver,” he continued. “We definitely know [about] those requests but at this point, there’s nothing specific we can tell you.”
The FIFA community has been calling for online support in Career Mode for many years, and many thought their wishes had been answered when a job listing surfaced in the lead-up to FIFA 22.
EA job advert says they're hiring Online Software Engineers to work on a FIFA "online career mode" New feature in FIFA 22? 👀 pic.twitter.com/1fgUXaI63Z
— Dexerto Sports (@DexertoFC) June 3, 2021
The EA SPORTS advert mentioned hiring an Online Software Engineer to help build a “networked play development team,” working on “online career mode, ultimate team, or core online systems and protocols.”
Sadly, the FIFA 22 reveals came and went with no sign of the feature, and FIFA 23 is following the same pattern.
For the time being, at least, it seems that players will have to stick to solo play outside of Ultimate Team, Online Season, and Pro Clubs. As the series moves into the new era as EA SPORTS FC, fans will be hoping to finally see online Career Mode show up for the first time.