The best pre-order offers and bonuses for EA FC 25

Football fans, rejoice. The next installment in EA's long-running football game series is almost here. For those with early access: EA Sports FC 25 (earlier FIFA) will make its way to gaming consoles later this week, and the changes to Ultimate Team as well as new game modes and tactical tweaks could make this EA's biggest release yet.

The cover features English star and Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham, who succeeds FC24It is Erling Haaland, who at just 21 years old is EA's youngest cover star.

FC24 was the second largest game launch in 2023 in terms of revenue after The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the KingdomAnd FC25 is expected to follow in his footsteps, although Fifa is reportedly working with Take-Two alone FIFA Game.

Starting on September 27, FC25 is now available for pre-order in both the Standard and Ultimate Editions of the game, with early access starting this Friday, September 20th (if you pre-order the Ultimate Edition). We've rounded up everything you need to know about FC25from all the pre-order bonuses to new features to gameplay and more.

When does FC 25 Early Access start in the UK?

If you pre-order the Ultimate Edition of the game (see our roundup of the best deals below), you can start playing FC25 from midnight on Friday 20th September on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and those who pre-order the Standard Edition on Nintendo Switch will get the same early access. PC players will have to wait until 5am BST on Friday 20th September to start playing. As well as early access, the Ultimate Edition also offers a number of other benefits. Here are the best deals on the Standard and Ultimate Editions of the game.

The best pre-order offers for the Standard Edition of “EA Sports FC 25”

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As with every Fifa release, every pre-order of FC25including the standard edition of the game. Each pre-order includes the base game, a 10-match Jude Bellingham loan player item, a 10-match Ambassador loan item, a Club PlayStyles slot, additional personality points and three icons in Player Career mode, and a five-star coach and five-star youth scout in Manager Career mode. You'll also receive 250,000 Clubs Coins. Phew!

The game is available for PC, PS4 and PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, and the Nintendo Switch. Amazon and The Game Collection currently have the best deals.

PlayStation5

PlayStation4

Xbox Series X/Xbox One

Nintendo Switch

PC

The best pre-order offers for “EA Sports FC 25” Ultimate Edition

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If you spend a little more money and pre-order the Ultimate Edition of, EA Sports FC 25you will receive the game seven days earlier than everyone else, starting on September 20. The only notable difference between the Ultimate Edition and the Standard Edition is that those who opt for the Ultimate Edition will have access to FC25's Ultimate Team campaign mode.

You will also get access to some additional bonuses to boost your FC25 Journey. In addition to the dual entitlement that allows you to upgrade your PS4/Xbox One copy to PS5/Xbox Series X/S for free and the bonuses of the standard version, you will also receive 4,600 FC points (3,850 for Nintendo Switch).

In terms of items and bonuses, you will also receive a non-tradeable Ultimate Team Origin Hero player that will automatically upgrade to a Prime version on November 28, a non-tradeable Ultimate Team Greats of the Game Icon or Greats of the Game Hero player in FC24an Ultimate Team Player Evolutions Slot and double bonus points in FC25's new game mode Rush. You'll also get Season 1 Ranked Progression and Rush Rewards in Ultimate Team and Clubs. That's a lot more pre-order bonuses than FC24.

Amazon, ShopTo and CDKeys have the best deals for the Ultimate Edition of FC25 is available for pre-order on Xbox and PC. PS5 players must pre-order the game from PlayStation Store. Switch players can pre-order the Standard Edition but will still get access to Ultimate Team and the Ultimate Edition pre-order bonuses.

PlayStation 5/PlayStation 4

Xbox Series X/S/Xbox One

Nintendo Switch

PC

What’s new in EA Sports FC 25?

This is possibly the biggest shake-up of EA's football franchise in a long time. This isn't just the same game, just with players wearing new kits. From a new game mode and a new FC IQ system to new player roles and better tactical options, EA has built in a lot.

Hurry

The new game mode Rush seems to be the big highlight. It replaces Volta and is a five-on-five system where you can play with real players. In all game modes, including Career Mode, Ultimate Team and Kick Off, players run for the ball at kickoff. Players can get a blue card in Rush, which sends them to the penalty box for a full minute – a big deal when you only have five players on a team.

FC IQ

The tactics have been completely rewritten for FC25. FC IQ gives you more strategic control over the entire game, allowing you to give specific instructions to players with and without the ball. There are 50 new player roles, so you can assign very specific behaviours to each player on your team without the ball, asking them to focus on attacking and running around rather than defending. This means the old work rate system has been removed. If all of this seems too much for you, you'll also be presented with intelligent tactics that you can select in-game.

Plus, you'll stay in the action longer since subtitles take place in-game without having to dive into multiple menus and interrupt the game.

Career Mode Updates

You can now enter Career Mode at any point in the season, with points and injuries taken into account up until that week of the season. The women's game will also be playable in Career Mode for the first time. Interestingly, it will mirror real life, meaning you won't have to spend as big a budget on players. Youth tournaments will also be introduced in Career Mode. They will take place every two months and you will be able to take control of youth players and develop them.

Icons also make their way into Career Mode, allowing you to play as David Beckham, Thierry Henry and other football legends.

And perhaps the most exciting feature (for us anyway) is that legendary Italian sports journalist Fabrizio Romano is in the game in Career Mode, providing transfer news and updates. EA says more sports media will be added, so here's hoping we see our own Miguel Delaney in the game.

Clubs

EA has built a clubhouse for your club, which is an area where your avatars can socialize. You can also allocate a budget for facilities cards, meaning you can improve certain parts of your player's qualities. Clubs can also now be relegated, so you can drop down a league if you don't perform well.

On which platforms can you play “EA Sports FC 25”?

EA Sports FC 25 will be playable on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X and S, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. Like last year, the Switch version this year is available in a completely non-legacy format, with the same Frostbite engine, Rush modes, and tactics. You'll just miss HyperMotion and cross-platform play. Win!

FC25 is playable cross-platform between Xbox, PS5 and PC players, but Switch players can only play against their friends who also use a Nintendo Switch.

Release date of “EA Sports FC 25”

FC25 will be released on September 27th. If you pre-order the Ultimate Edition of the game today, you can start playing a full week earlier than everyone else, as Early Access begins on September 20th.

Do you want to play comfortably? Read our guide to best gaming chairs