EA Sports has just rolled out F1 25 Season 4 and the response from gamers has been really… intense. A brand new season, launching on November 12, will feature a Survival Challenge mode that allows players to earn exclusive team liveries. However, the biggest uproar is about the fact that the livery is exclusively available through online matches participation.
You got it right! The Red Bull Japan livery and a few other special adjustments will be only obtainable in the new online-only mode. This situation has not been welcomed by the gaming community at all. An EA SPORTS F1 tweet was basically a challenge to players, “do you have the skills to face the challenge?”, but the replies were mainly focused on one question: “What about us solo players?”
Among the players, Stikman was the one who put it in the simplest terms: “C’mon EA, what about multiplayer players? Your alienating a lot of players with these unlocks being online only.” His remark was echoed frequently in the comments and another user, RaymanKuba, got even more direct and said the ultimate: “Seriously? I don’t play multiplayer and a lot of players don’t either. Thanks for nothing!” Ouch.
This marks a substantial shift away from F1 23 and F1 24 when the special liveries got unlocked mainly through solo events or career challenges, which the players had grown used to. Now they feel that they are forced to go multiplayer only to unlock nice-looking items. Richard Lawler commented, “Could have easily put this on solo or even career challenge. I don’t think anything has been there since lewis and lando events at launch.” Isn’t it a strong point? Like, why do you want to mess with something that was working perfectly fine?
In addition, there is an issue of the cost of online subscriptions. Evan R. Smith expressed this very wisely: “I’m not paying $60+ for Xbox Live just so I can get the Red Bull Japan livery.” For console players, it is more than just a matter of being forced to play a mode they don’t fancy; it’s a matter of being charged extra. That is really a huge ask just for a paint job.
The new system is adopted from a model of the token-based reward system. The tokens are distributed based on the position you finish in the Survival Challenge races. But as Seth pointed out, “holy shit if I finish last in every game so I need 4 weeks to take all skins?” That leads to the question of how much one has to grind. If you are not a top-class online racer, it might feel like you are working part-time just to unlock everything. This is certainly not fun and casual experience that many players are looking for.
It is only natural that there are some upsides too. One player Emy said: “Very welcome change! Love the idea behind survival challenge. Token system could use some help but in general, this is a creative and overall fun way of unlocking new liveries. Love it!” Well, there are a few players who are really looking forward to a new competitive online mode. Nevertheless, the general response indicates that they are just a minority.
The exasperation has become so intense that some players are even reaching out to EA on a different level questioning their decisions. User Jayme provided some criticism that was not meant to be harsh: “Not to criticize this super unpopular decision, but I would’ve asked us players ahead of time… you MIGHT wanna reconsider this.” This is a recurring theme: the feeling that the developers didn’t consult the community before they made a major change that has an effect on how they play.
What about the timeless F1 online lobby issues? As Cruiser humorously said, “Online lobbies are already a survival challenge, how will this be any different?” Well, he is right about that aspect. Turn 1 in a public lobby is frequently a crash-filled nightmare. Bok_chan22 merely commented, “Nobody is going to survive T1,” which might just be the most realistic prediction of how these races will unfold.
Amidst all the online commotion, there are some players who still care about other matters such as the chance for a Williams Gulf livery or why the official website link doesn’t work for them. But the issue of online-only controversy is still the main discussion. There is a clear division between the developers’ expectation of ongoing online engagement and the player base’s demand for content that is easily accessible and solo-friendly.
So what does it mean for F1 25 Season 4? It is a new mode that a significant portion of the audience thinks they are excluded from. The Survival Challenge may turn out to be a fun idea for the hardcore online audience but EA Sports has unintentionally divided the gamers by making the highly sought cosmetic items available only through this mode. Players who have spent $70 or more for the game now think they have to pay even more now.
