Fifa 20 players complain that major ‘bug’ ruins career mode

Managers are picking bad teams – making the opposition easy to beat and transforming the league table, fans argue

Fifa players are complaining about a strange bug that makes the game easier to play.

The unusual behaviour means that opposition managers will choose bad line-ups when playing against a human character, making the opposition much harder than would be expected.

The issue only appears to be affecting the career mode. But given that it is a central part of the game, it could be causing problems for millions of people.

When the bug happens, it means that players may play against Manchester City, for instance – but that the team will be much weaker because it includes a variety of reserves and youth players. That makes the matches much easier, despite the ostensibly good team being played against.

It even seems to happen when the computer simulates matches against itself, to decide the results across the rest of the league. That will mean that teams that would be expected to be at the top of the Premier League, for instance, can be in danger of relegation in a season.

Fans claim that developers have been altering this system in recent years, in what is presumably an attempt to ensure that the game is realistic. Historically, for instance, opposition managers may choose some of their weaker players when users were playing with a lower-ranked team – but it appears that mechanic has become extreme, selecting reserves in a wide variety of matches.

The bug has even drawn the attention of basketball player Joel Embiid, who posted about the issues to his Instagram story. He suggested there were a range of issues with career mode, but asked developers: "Can we make sure big teams are not relegated or are not playing their 6th team?"

Fifa 20 includes a number of updates and changes to the career mode, including the addition of simulated post-match interviews and the ability to customise the look of the manager that is being controlled by the player.

Read our full review of Fifa 20 – and all the Career Mode changes – here.