EA FC 25 wins trophy at The Game Awards, but it’s all very Mourinho

You might have raised your eyebrow like Carlo Ancelotti as EA FC 25 scooped the Best Sports/Racing Game at The Game Awards 2024, but in all honesty, the victory was a lot more like Jose Mourinho.

Putting the current and former Real Madrid managers to one side for a moment, let’s look at the achievement in isolation. It’s a remarkable feat for a relatively new franchise Electronic Arts had to develop, after losing the naming rights for FIFA in 2022 – a partnership known globally, and one that nearly lasted 30 years.

To change the series’ name and scoop a trophy in its genre within two years is impressive. The last time they won the very same award was FIFA 17, a fan-favorite even to this day. It might not have felt this way at the time, but some might say (especially Ultimate Team players) it was a modern classic looking back.

And now there’s another major honor to add to the developers’ record. To do it, whether they like it or not, they deployed similar tactics to a serial winner from Portugal.

“I am Jose Mourinho”

EA

Just like Jose Mourinho did time and time again, EA FC 25 wins – and wins ugly.

Mourinho needs no introduction to anyone reading this. A pragmatic manager, adapting to the players he has at his disposal, to defend well and win in a way that’s not always popular with fans. A serial winner. He has been there and done it almost everywhere he’s been in his career (sorry Tottenham supporters). How many times have we seen him smirking, parading around the pitch with champagne as the fans celebrate the moment, and not the football they may have had to endure to get them to that place? Too many times!

It appears EA FC have proven the same tactics can get results in gaming, too.

If you look at the nominees they faced this year at The Game Awards, it was F1 24, NBA 2K25, Top Spin 2K25, and WWE 2K24 to beat. And let’s face it, that’s not a strong league. None of those games jumped off the page this year and have largely been disappointments, all things considered.

In the case of FC 25, EA stuck to what they knew. The fine-tuning changes to Ultimate Team, Career Mode, Pro Clubs, the addition of RUSH… Fans were excited for a moment in time, and then it went away. We gave the game a 4/5 this year in our review, as our expert Nathan Warby put it: “Impressive debuts but still waiting to reach its potential.”

He said: “Career Mode and Ultimate Team veterans might feel like they’ve been short-changed, as the on-field action feels mostly the same as in previous years.”

There wasn’t a significant upgrade this year but the lick of paint and results have ultimately gotten them over the line. It has also suffered from a serious hacker problem on PC (exclusive investigation here) which has put off many players.

EA Sports

EA FC 25 has sold millions of copies since launch.

We all know a friend or two who will be complaining about the victory right now, but they will be buying it again next year – don’t you fret. Off the pitch, EA FC 25 saw double-digital sales growth from last year’s franchise debut according to Sports Business Journal, and achieved the highest launch month sales of any soccer game released to date.

And all that said, Metacritic has it at a “generally unfavorable” user score of 2.4, with over 450 user ratings in that sample.

So while the fans might be booing, or reconsidering their season ticket renewals for next year’s EA FC, there was a trophy to be won and they got the job done tonight. Some might not like it but if it delivers outcomes not seen since 2017, expect to see a lot more of it next time.

Just like Mourinho, they’re not afraid to win ugly. They have done exactly that.