FIFA 19’s ‘Survival Mode’ is unfortunately not a Battle Royale spin-off, but it’s still pretty brutal

I’m all for this becoming an actual FIFA ruling

“Survival Mode” sounds pretty intense, right? You expect that kind of mode in fighting games, or arcade shmups and other hard-hitting genres, so when I heard that it was coming to Electronic Arts’ FIFA 19 I started to fear for the well-being of the players, was the long-running football series leaping on the Battle Royale bandwagon?

No, of course it isn’t, because that would be insane. But the truth is stranger than fiction. Survival Mode refers to a new game style in FIFA 19‘s “House Rules” category, where players will take to the pitch as usual, however, every time you put one past the keeper, your team loses a player. Thus the better you do, the harder the rest of the match gets. You could literally end up with just a single player on the pitch for your squad.

That’s a pretty ingenious idea, sounding like something SNK would’ve bust out in the cyber-sports titles of the ’90s. Other variations in FIFA 19’s House Rules mode include long-shots scoring double points, Headers and Volleys only, First-to-3, and other fun game tweaks, perfect for a post-pub kickabout with your buddies.

FIFA 19 launches September 28 on PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC and Nintendo Switch.