The FIFA 23 Career Mode reveal trailer has landed, bringing with it some new information regarding this year's game.
Whilst Player Career has seen a number of new features added, we can't help but feel that Manager Mode has been severely let down.
After many years of false dawns, it looks like the dark days of Career Mode being overlooked have returned.
A Poor Slate
We will give EA some credit, at least we've seen some new features added to Career Mode this year.
Between Playabale Highlights, some additional cinematic cut-scenes and the introduction of the Transfer Analyst, at least we will see some improvements made this year.
That being said, the new additions barely scratch the surface of Career Mode's true potential and ultimately leave us feeling cold.
The ultimate kick in the teeth is the arrival of a new 'real life' managers system, in which you can take control of over 300 gaffers, 30 of which have authentic face scans.
Was this needed?
When you consider that we still have so many fundamental elements missing, we can't help but feel like this new slate of additions feels rather lazy and threadbare.
What Could Have Been
Career Mode doesn't make EA any extra cash, we understand that.
Modes like Ultimate Team will always get preferential treatment and that's fine, but the recent treatment of Career Mode harkens back to days of old when it was completely forgotten by EA.
With issues like club identity, realistic transfers and basic glitches plaguing the mode in FIFA 22, we're fearful that these new additions will just add to the pile of problems.
Games like Football Manager take FIFA to school when comparing their manager mode experience, and no amount of new cinematics is going to change that.
Career Mode is a much more relaxed mode than Ultimate Team and it should feel completely different.
The pace should be slow, the menus more in-depth and the tactical choices more methodical.
Instead, Career Mode in FIFA 23 is at risk of feeling exactly the same as the last three years, only with someone judging you for signing yet another pacey winger.
Important Future
A few months ago, we wrote about how Career Mode could hold the key to success as EA branch off and launch EA Sports FC.
With Women's club football featured this year and the annual rumour of the National League's arrival still kicking around, we're hopeful for a bright future for Career Mode.
That being said, the shift of focus to Player Career raises a few red flags, with the potential for paid content to be added into the mode in the future.
All this would lead to Manager Career Mode being left behind at a time when an appetite for a single-player, immersive experience has never been greater.
There are positive steps being made, especially in terms of gameplay elements, but the list of new features arriving in manager career this year feels lacklustre, and we're concerned that it could be another year in the mire for fans of this often-overlooked mode.