Rush Is EA Sports FC 25’s Exciting New 5v5 Experience

Following community feedback, the newly announced EA Sports FC 25 is ditching the arcade-like Volta mode in favor of Rush. This brand new mode pits two teams of five players each against one another in an appropriately sized pitch of 63.7x46.7 meters (down from the standard 105x68 meters). The size went through various iterations to get it right.

The main difference with Volta is that Rush fully retains the gameplay mechanics of the regular 11v11 mode when it comes to depth and balance of defending, attacking, dribbling, shooting, et cetera. Rush is obviously meant to be a social, accessible mode, with four humans (and the AI-controlled goalkeeper) controlling one player on each team. This allows them to have far more time with the ball, and every action on the field matters more due to the reduced team size. Positioning is also completely dynamic, just like in five-a-side football.

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While Rush's core mechanics are identical to regular matches, the developers still chose to introduce a few key changes to spice up the experience. For example, the kick-off sees players rushing to the ball, Rocket-League style; this does not apply to resuming the game after the other team has scored, which happens exactly like in real football. The offside line starts on the attacking third rather than the attacking half of a team to accommodate the different pitch and team sizes.

Perhaps more intriguing is the addition of blue cards. This has been discussed quite a while in the real sports, although FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed earlier this year the idea was ultimately scrapped. The concept is essentially borrowed from other sports: instead of a final red card that sends a player off the pitch for good, the blue card is a limited-time ban, as you would see in hockey or water polo. Currently, it lasts for one minute (a standard Rush match lasts eight