Technical Issue: EA SPORTS FC 26 (Steam) fails to launch (exit code 1)

Hello EA Support Team,

I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to request technical assistance with **EA SPORTS FC 26**, which I purchased on Steam for Windows. Unfortunately, the game does not launch properly. After clicking **Play** in Steam, the EA App opens momentarily but closes without launching the game. The Steam client then shows the game state as "Running" before returning to idle, and no error message is displayed.

### Issue Details

- **Platform:** PC (Windows 10, Steam version)
- **Game:** EA SPORTS FC 26 (AppID 3405690)
- **Launch behaviour:** EA App opens briefly and closes; the game process appears in Steam logs and then exits with **exit code 1** without showing any window.
- **Error messages:** None displayed on screen. The only relevant entry in the Windows System log is that `EAAntiCheatService` is installed (manual startup). No warnings or errors are logged when the game fails to start.
- **Steam logs:** `gameprocess_log.txt` shows repeated lines like:
  - `AppID 3405690 adding PID xxxx as a tracked process "link2ea://launchgame/3405690?platform=steam&theme=fc26"`
  - A few seconds later: `AppID 3405690 no longer tracking PID xxxx, exit code 1`
- **EA AntiCheat:** The service `EAAntiCheatService` is present on the system (`C:\Program Files\EA\AC\eaanticheat.gameservice.exe`) and runs as a manual user‑mode service. I have attempted to repair, uninstall, and reinstall EA AntiCheat using the `EAAntiCheat.Installer.exe` in the game’s installation folder.

### Troubleshooting Steps Performed

I have followed the official troubleshooting steps for **link2ea/EA App errors**https://help.ea.com/en/articles/platforms/download-and-play-ea-app-games/#:~:text=Error%20code%3A%20link2ea and additional community recommendations:

1. **Closed Steam and EA App completely**, cleared EA App cache and Steam’s HTML and HTTP caches.
2. **Repaired game files** via Steam and used the EA App’s “Repair” option under the game tile.
3. **Reinstalled EA App**, uninstalled and reinstalled **EA AntiCheat**, and completely reinstalled the game.
4. **Verified the EA Background Service** is running (set to Automatic) and restarted the service.
5. **Ran Steam, EA App, and the game “as administrator.”**
6. **Disabled overlays and background programs** (Steam Overlay, Discord, NVIDIA GeForce Overlay, etc.).
7. **Temporarily set environment variables `TEMP` and `TMP` to `C:\Temp`** and created a junction to avoid non‑Latin characters in my Windows user profile path, in case EA AntiCheat has issues with Unicode paths.
8. **Checked Windows logs** for errors around the time of launch; only informational messages about the `EAAntiCheatService` installation were present, and no errors or warnings related to the game launch were found.

Despite these efforts, the game still terminates immediately after the EA App opens. Based on my research and the logs, it seems EA AntiCheat is not initialising correctly or the game fails integrity checks, resulting in an instant exit with **exit code 1**.

### Additional Information

- **System Details:** Intel CPU, NVIDIA GPU (driver 32.0.15.8157), Windows 10 build 26200.0. 
- **Location:** Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
- **Logs:** I have bundled relevant EA App, Steam, and EA AntiCheat logs as a ZIP archive for your analysis (available upon request).

### Request

I kindly ask that your technical team review this issue and provide guidance on how to resolve it. If there is a known problem with EA AntiCheat and certain system configurations (e.g., Windows user profiles with non‑Latin characters) or if an update is required, please let me know. I am happy to provide additional logs or information as needed.

Thank you for your time and assistance. I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]
[Your EA-Flint/Steam Account-erypalmbeach [edit: email address removed]]