How long does FIFA 17 career mode last?
As a passionate FIFA gamer myself, one question I see pop up a lot in communities is "how many seasons can you play in career mode?" With the respected FIFA series being many fans‘ first foray into sports gaming every year, it‘s an important thing to clear up. So let‘s take an in-depth look at FIFA 17 career mode‘s duration and why the developers landed on 15 seasons.
Spanning 15 In-Game Seasons
In FIFA 17, career mode allows you to play through a total of 15 seasons whether you choose manager or player career. This starts with the 2016/17 season and runs through 2030/2031 before coming to an end.
Essentially, it covers the main prime years of a hypothetical managing or playing career. You rise up, hit your peak, and then enter the twilight years before retirement, all within those 15 campaigns.
That‘s 60-90 Hours of Gameplay
To put that into gameplay hours – completing an entire in-game season typically takes anywhere from 4-6 hours depending on how in-depth you go. With sports gaming, a bulk of time gets spent on menus, transfers, training, planning etc.
So with 15 seasons in FIFA 17 career mode, you‘re looking at a hefty 60-90 hours of playtime from a single career mode save file. That‘s no small feat!
Why 15 Seasons Makes Sense
The developers clearly put some thought into landing on 15 seasons as the career mode ceiling. While some fans wish it could just last forever, limiting it to 15 years seems to hit a few key targets:
It covers enough years to build a club into title contenders – with smart transfers and youth development, you can take a small club to trophies over 4-5 seasons typically.
Allows for complete player/manager career arcs – those 15 seasons will usually include early promise, prime peak years and post-prime decline before retirement.
Enough time for next-gen talent to emerge – your youth academy graduates will become key players and eventually need replacing themselves.
Essentially, 15 seasons ticks a lot of boxes in terms of engagement and variety over a save file instead of risking repetitive staleness.
What Happens at the Finish Line
Upon completion of that 15th campaign, you‘ll get an in-game message along the lines of:
"Congratulations on your retirement! Thank you for the many great achievements and memories over your illustrious career. This concludes your FIFA 17 career mode journey".
Bittersweet! And with that, the save file finishes and you‘d need to start up a new career mode if you want to keep playing.
No progress, stats or accomplishments will carry over. But starting fresh can be enjoyable with new challenges in store!
The Verdict?
While some FIFA fanatics will always wish for longer career modes, capping it at 15 seasons seems a smart compromise by EA Sports. You get enough years to take a club or player through major highs and lows, feel that sense of long-term progression, and it avoids the risk of things going stale.
For the average player who picks up the new FIFA every year, diving deep into a 15 season career mode represents fantastic value and playtime until the next edition rolls around!
Those are my thoughts on FIFA 17‘s career mode duration – let me know your experience with it in the comments! Do you think 15 seasons is the right call? Or would you prefer no limit? Keen to hear your thoughts!
