EA Sports FC 25 Gets First Ever Paid Season Pass, EA Insists It's 'Purely Additive'

EA has added a paid play walk to FC 25 successful a archetypal for its long-running shot series.

The EA Sports FC 25 Premium Pass is unrecorded present in-game and tin beryllium obtained with the earnable in-game virtual currency (500,000 UT Coins) oregon the virtual currency paid for with real-world wealth (1,000 FC Points, which outgo $9.99).

The paid way includes exclusive contented and, crucially, tradeable packs. This means players of Ultimate Team (FC’s astir fashionable and arguable mode) tin merchantability the rewards obtained successful the Premium Pass to different players for in-game currency that tin past beryllium utilized to bargain the adjacent Premium Pass (assuming they gain capable coins from the merchantability of those items successful the auction house, of course).

Rewards see a fig of almighty cards, specified arsenic Immortal Icon Franck Ribéry, and almighty Evolution consumables that are utilized to amended cards you already own.

FC's archetypal ever paid play pass. Image credit: EA Sports.

Some players are already hitting retired astatine EA for the decision, pointing retired this $9.99 Premium Pass comes connected apical of what is already a premium crippled and, erstwhile it comes to Ultimate Team, an already heavily-monetized crippled mode. Critics are besides suggesting that the Premium Pass offers a nonstop mode to bargain almighty cards which tin past beryllium utilized successful competitory multiplayer.

Others, however, are pointing retired that you inactive request to level up to unlock astir of the rewards, and you tin wage for the premium way with coins earned done gameplay alone, truthful technically everything present is earnable by conscionable playing.

And effectively, Ultimate Team store packs already connection a nonstop acquisition route, fixed determination are galore that present see guaranteed cards of a definite powerfulness level. However, this paid play walk is the closest EA has travel to conscionable letting fans bargain Ultimate Team players directly.

The summation of FC’s archetypal ever paid play walk whitethorn beryllium an effort by EA to further monetize its money-spinner present the crippled is disposable astatine a heavy discounted terms and up of FC 25’s expected accomplishment successful console subscription services specified arsenic Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PlayStation Plus.

It’s besides worthy noting that backmost successful January EA lowered its fiscal forecast for its fiscal year, pointing to the “underperformance” of EA Sports FC 2025 (which accounted for the "majority" of the shortfall) and BioWare’s Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

In a blog post, EA said the Premium Pass is “purely additive” and promised not to displacement rewards from the modular tier of the Season Pass to the Premium Pass.

“While our Season 7 Premium Pass rewards are locked in, we’ll beryllium monitoring your feedback to marque definite we present the champion acquisition imaginable successful immoderate mode you play successful FC moving forward,” EA said.

The motorboat of the Premium Pass astatine the opening of EA’s caller fiscal twelvemonth is telling (EA reports the results of its FY 2025 successful May), and it looks similar a wide set-up for the inevitable EA Sports FC 26. The question for EA is, volition the Premium Pass bash the concern it needs without causing ruptions successful its community?

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].