If you’re a casual or diehard football game fan who prefers single-player progression over online competitive play, you probably prioritize career mode when picking up a new title. I’ve spent hundreds of hours playing Master League on old PES games, so when I first downloaded eFootball 23, the first thing I hunted for was the familiar career mode menu. If you’ve just downloaded or picked up a copy of the game, your first question is likely does eFootball 23 have career mode, especially if you’re coming from older PES titles or competing football games that prioritize long-form single-player progression.
Official Answer: Does eFootball 23 Have Career Mode?
Let’s cut straight to the chase to save you time scrolling through menus for hours like I did. No, eFootball 23 does not have a traditional, narrative-driven career mode or iconic Master League mode as part of its official feature set. Konami shifted the franchise to a free-to-play model with the 2022 eFootball rebrand, and prioritized building out online competitive modes first.
The developer initially promised that a full career mode would be added as a post-launch update, but those plans were repeatedly delayed and eventually pushed to future eFootball releases. Thousands of long-time PES fans expressed frustration over the missing feature, as Master League had been a core part of the franchise for more than 20 years. I was personally so disappointed on launch day that I almost uninstalled the game immediately, though I did stick around to test out the single-player features that did make the cut.
It’s important to note that there is no hidden career mode you can unlock with codes or special challenges, either. Any videos or posts claiming to show a hidden career mode in the base game are either fake, or using fan-made mods that are not officially supported.
What Single-Player Modes Are Available in eFootball 23?
Even without a dedicated career mode, eFootball 23 still has a handful of single-player features you can enjoy if you already own the game and don’t want to waste the storage space. These are the three main offline modes you can access from the main menu:
- Tour Mode: Play through preset international or club tournaments, like the World Cup or top European domestic leagues, with a team of your choice. You can adjust difficulty to match your skill level, but there’s no long-term progression, player transfers, or club management options between matches.
- Friendlies vs AI: Play one-off matches against the computer with any licensed or custom team. This is a good option if you just want to jump in for a quick 30-minute game without any commitment to a longer playthrough. You can customize match length, weather, and stadium to fit your preferences.
- Dream Team Single-Player Matches: While Dream Team is primarily designed as an online competitive mode, you can play matches against AI opponents to earn coins, train players, and build your squad over time. This is the closest thing to progression-focused single player in the game.
I found Dream Team’s single-player mode surprisingly fun for the first 15 or so hours of play. You can sign new players, level up your existing squad, and work your way up through harder AI difficulty tiers. The biggest downside is that there are no management features like contract negotiations, media duties, or stadium upgrades that make traditional career modes so immersive.
Workarounds for Players Looking for a Career Mode Experience in eFootball 23
If you already own eFootball 23 and don’t want to switch to a different game just to get a career mode fix, there are a few community-tested workarounds you can try to create your own custom career experience. None of these are perfect, but they can add a lot of longevity to your single-player playthroughs.
Create a custom rule set for your Dream Team playthrough to mimic career mode progression. For example, you can set rules like only signing players under the age of 23, only picking players from one specific country, or never spending real money on microtransactions for new players. You can track your seasonal goals, top goal scorers, and win rate in a simple spreadsheet or notebook to add that long-term progression feel. I tried this with a rule that I could only sign players from the English second division, and it kept me engaged for almost 40 hours of play.
Use Tour Mode for sequential club runs if you prefer playing with real teams instead of a custom Dream Team. Start with a low-tier club from a lower league, play through a full tournament run, and “move” to a bigger club if you win the league or a major cup. You can keep track of your managerial record across clubs to make it feel like a real career path. A lot of players in the eFootball community share their custom career runs on social media, so you can even find inspiration for your own rule sets there.
PC players also have the option to use fan-made mods that add basic career mode functionality, like custom progression tracking and transfer systems. Just be aware that using mods can lead to a permanent account ban if you ever connect to online servers, so only use them if you plan to play the game exclusively offline. Never download mods from untrusted sources, as they can contain malware or harm your device.
Should You Buy eFootball 23 If You Only Want to Play Career Mode?
If you don’t already own eFootball 23 and are considering downloading it specifically for career mode, the short answer is no, you should probably look for a different game. There are far better options for players who prioritize long-form single-player progression, including older PES titles that have full Master League support.
That said, there are still a few reasons you might want to give eFootball 23 a try even without a career mode. The core gameplay is extremely polished, with smoother player movement and more realistic ball physics than a lot of competing football games on the market. It’s also completely free to play, so you can test it out without spending any money to see if the available single-player modes are enough for you. I still boot it up every now and then for quick friendly matches with my favorite club, even if I don’t spend hours on it like I used to.
The biggest downside for single-player players is that Dream Mode is heavily designed to push microtransactions. If you want to build a top-tier squad quickly without grinding hundreds of AI matches, you’ll have to spend real money on in-game currency. It’s also worth noting that eFootball 23 has far fewer licensed teams and stadiums than older PES titles, so you might not be able to play with your favorite lower-league club without downloading custom fan files.
To wrap it up, the answer to does eFootball 23 have career mode is a firm no, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun playing single player if you already own the game. The custom playthrough tricks we covered can add dozens of hours of extra entertainment if you’re willing to put in a little extra effort to track your own progress. If you’re shopping for a new football game specifically for career mode, you’re better off checking out older PES entries or competing titles that have full, built-in career mode features. At the end of the day, the best football game for you depends on what you enjoy most, and if long-form single player progression is at the top of your list, you might want to wait for future eFootball releases that finally deliver on the promised career mode features.