FIFA 20 introduced more variety to the series than almost any edition before it, headlined by the brand-new Volta Football mode and significant changes to Career Mode, Ultimate Team, and core gameplay mechanics. Whether you are deciding which mode to focus on first or trying to understand what each part of the game offers, this guide breaks down every major FIFA 20 game mode and explains the key gameplay changes that distinguish this year's edition from its predecessors. If you plan to build a competitive Ultimate Team squad, MrGeek s a reliable source for safe, affordable FC Coins store to speed up your squad building process.
Volta Football — FIFA's New Street Mode
Volta Football is the headline new addition to FIFA 20, bringing back the street football experience that the series had not seen since the FIFA Street games. Inspired by the Futsal and street football culture, Volta takes place in custom outdoor and indoor venues around the world — from rooftops in Amsterdam to car parks in Dubai — and emphasises individual skill, tight spaces, and creative play.
Volta Match Formats
- 3v3 Rush: Three players per side with no goalkeeper. The most chaotic and skill-focused format, where every touch and dribble counts in tight spaces.
- 4v4: Standard four-aside with a goalkeeper. More structured than Rush formats while still faster and more creative than the main 11v11 game.
- 4v4 Rush: Four players per side, no goalkeeper — combines the extra player of 4v4 with the speed of Rush play.
- 5v5: The largest Volta format; plays closest to traditional football while retaining the street setting and skill-move emphasis.
- Professional Futsal: Indoor futsal at fully replicated venues, following official futsal rules and featuring the authentic futsal ball and court markings.
Volta Features
- Story Campaign: A fully voiced narrative campaign following a young player rising through the global street football scene across different cities and cultures.
- Online Leagues: Compete in persistent online leagues against other Volta players for seasonal rewards and rankings.
- Custom Avatars: Create a personalised male or female player avatar with full cosmetic customisation, including clothing, accessories, and appearance options.
- Skill Challenges: Single-player challenges designed to test and develop specific dribbling and skill move techniques.
Platform note: Volta Football is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. The PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Switch versions do not include Volta Football.
Reviewer consensus on Volta is broadly positive — it offers a genuinely different experience from the core 11v11 game and succeeds as a lighter, more casual counterpoint to the depth of Ultimate Team and Career Mode. The main criticism is that the online rewards structure competes with Ultimate Team for players' time, making it difficult to commit to both simultaneously.
Career Mode — Manage or Play, Long-Term
Career Mode in FIFA 20 received its first meaningful update in several years, addressing long-standing requests from the management-focused part of the community. The mode allows you to take control of a club — or a single player — and guide them through multiple seasons of football.
Manager Career
Manager Career puts you in the dugout with control over transfers, tactics, squad development, and press conferences. FIFA 20 introduced new interactive press conferences with multiple question-and-answer options that affect player morale and media perception — a first for the series. Dynamic player potential was also introduced, meaning players can develop faster or slower than their initial ratings suggest based on form and playing time.
Player Career
Player Career puts you in control of a single footballer, managing your development, contract negotiations, and international career from the perspective of a player rather than a manager. You can create a custom player or take control of an existing one, working your way up from lower-league football to international stardom.
FIFA 20 Ultimate Team — Build and Compete
Ultimate Team remains FIFA 20's most popular and most developed mode. You build a squad of player cards earned through packs, Squad Building Challenges, and the transfer market, then compete online in a range of competitive and casual formats.
Core FUT Formats
- Division Rivals: The primary online competitive mode, placing you in a skill-based division and awarding weekly rewards based on how many wins you accumulate. Rewards scale with your division level, incentivising consistent improvement over the season.
- FUT Champions (Weekend League): The weekend-only elite competition requiring FUT Champions tokens to enter. Playing 30 matches across a weekend determines your rank and the corresponding reward tier.
- Squad Building Challenges (SBCs): Offline puzzle challenges requiring you to submit squads matching specific chemistry and rating criteria. Completing SBCs earns player cards, packs, and other rewards without playing matches.
- FUT Draft: A single-session format where you draft a squad from a random selection of players and play a series of matches for escalating rewards.
- Season Objectives: A new addition in FIFA 20, Season Objectives introduced a structured progression system with weekly and seasonal milestones rewarding dedicated FUT players across the full year.
Critic commentary on Ultimate Team in FIFA 20 acknowledges it as the most polished and content-rich version of the mode to date, while noting that the reliance on microtransactions through pack purchases remains a point of contention for many players.
Pro Clubs — Team Online Football
Pro Clubs is FIFA 20's cooperative team mode, where up to eleven real players form a club and compete together online — each controlling a single custom avatar in 11v11 matches. AI fills any positions not occupied by real players. FIFA 20 introduced new personalisation options for Pro Clubs avatars, including expanded appearance customisation and skill tree progression paths that allow you to develop your player's attributes over multiple seasons of competitive play.
Kick Off and Tournament Modes
Kick Off is FIFA 20's quick-play format for single matches or local multiplayer. FIFA 20 significantly expanded Kick Off to include House Rules — a set of custom match rule variants including No Rules (every foul and offside is permitted), Headers and Volleys (only headed and volleyed goals count), First to Score (match ends when one side scores), and Long Range (only goals from outside the box count). These variations make Kick Off a genuinely fresh local multiplayer experience rather than just a standard exhibition mode.
Tournament Mode allows you to host single-player or local multiplayer versions of official competitions including the Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and various domestic cups, completing the bracket across multiple sessions.
Key FIFA 20 Gameplay Changes
Several core gameplay mechanics were meaningfully updated in FIFA 20, changing how matches feel compared to FIFA 19:
Linear Dribbling
A new dribbling system was introduced allowing more direct, linear ball-carrying runs. Rather than relying solely on skill moves to beat a defender, Linear Dribbling lets quick and agile players carry the ball at pace in straight lines, using their acceleration to bypass opponents and exploit space behind the defensive line.
Free Kicks
Free kicks received a complete overhaul in FIFA 20. The new system gives players significantly more control over the trajectory and spin of the ball, using a separate aiming mechanism that allows you to curve the ball around the wall with greater precision. The change made scored free kicks both more common and more satisfying to execute compared to previous editions.
Passing
Simple ground passes became more accurate and reliable in FIFA 20, while complex passing — including 180-degree switches and double-pass combinations — became intentionally less automatic, requiring more deliberate input and better timing to execute successfully. Two new pass types were also added: the chip pass (lifting the ball over a defensive line) and the Pass-and-Go command (triggering an automatic run from the passing player immediately after release).
Defending
Defending in FIFA 20 was slowed down compared to FIFA 19, requiring more patience and positioning rather than aggressive button-pressing. Rushed tackles and overcommitting to challenges became more punishable, and the defensive line's AI was adjusted to hold shape more effectively before engaging the attacker. Critics broadly praised this change for making defensive play feel more realistic and strategic.
FIFA 20 Critical Reception
FIFA 20 received broadly positive reviews across all platforms, though the critical consensus noted that the game excels in breadth of content while struggling to make major year-on-year progress in any individual area. Here is a summary of scores from major publications:
| Publication | Score | Summary |
| GameSpot | 8/10 | Solid and familiar, with Volta adding genuine variety alongside a stronger Ultimate Team |
| IGN | 7.8/10 | Volta enjoyable, defensive improvements noted, but ball control feels inconsistent |
| USGamer | 4/5 | Core gameplay improvements shine through; accessible to both veterans and new players |
| VideoGamesChronicle | 4/5 | Most content-rich FIFA yet; the breadth makes prioritising one mode difficult |
| Game Revolution | 4.5/5 | Career Mode and Ultimate Team improvements make both better than ever |
| Game Informer | 7.5/10 | Popular but lacking focus; Ultimate Team dominates at the expense of other modes |
| Hardcore Gamer | 3/5 | Personalisation improvements are positive; gameplay too similar to FIFA 19 |
| Push Square | 6/10 | Satisfying counter-attacks; Career Mode bugs and microtransaction reliance remain issues |
| Eurogamer | No score | Fun in competitive play but undermined by the broader commercial direction of the series |
Which FIFA 20 Mode Should You Play?
- If you want competitive online football: Ultimate Team's Division Rivals and Weekend League offer the most active and rewarding competitive environment, with a consistent content drip through promos and seasonal rewards.
- If you want a long-term offline project: Manager Career Mode is the strongest choice — build a club over multiple seasons, develop youth players, and compete for trophies without touching online modes.
- If you want something different: Volta Football offers the most genuinely fresh experience in FIFA 20. Its story mode is short but entertaining, and the street football format is a distinct enough experience to deserve several hours of your time.
- If you play with friends locally: Kick Off's House Rules modes make local multiplayer more entertaining than it has been in the series for several years — well worth exploring for casual play sessions.
- If you enjoy cooperative online play: Pro Clubs rewards coordinated teamwork in a way that no other FIFA mode does, and the avatar progression system gives it long-term replay value for groups of friends who play together regularly.
Conclusion
FIFA 20 is one of the most content-diverse editions of the series, offering something meaningful for almost every type of football game player. Volta Football represents a genuine new direction, Career Mode received its most significant update in years, and Ultimate Team continues to be the most polished competitive mode in the game. The breadth of content can make it difficult to commit deeply to any single area, but that same breadth means FIFA 20 has more to offer across more playstyles than almost any previous edition. Choose your mode, set your goals, and commit to the experience that fits how you want to play.
