Career mode is "ranked". Think old Tony Hawk games where you were skating in run down areas while you were getting known. So players start out as "aspiring players" in local tournaments/leagues. The arenas would be the same maps with rougher paint, missing bolts, empty stands of people watching. As they move up in ranks they earn the "seasonal rewards" which is gifts from being signed by new Sponsors. They could potentially even pick which sponsor so that not everyone gets the same EXACT reward but it would just be a color difference. With moving up the arenas also update, they start to be cleaner, fresher paint or have sponsor branding. Its all cosmetic changes. Then once they hit Gold/Diamond rank they are officially players in the SSL but not the TOP Aces, thats the Grandmaster or whatever the highest MMR is. These matches are played on the official SSL maps, fans in stands and replay system using a "News Report" overlay to showcase the winning moment or crucial moment of the game. Splitgate 2 has a very unique niche of being able to actually combine career mode methods into ranked as sports players are used to and something not seen in FPS games.