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Re: [PC] Stuttering from the second half

I am experiencing a very specific issue in EA FC 26 on PC. 
The game runs perfectly during the first half of a match, with smooth gameplay and no FPS drops. 
However, immediately at the end of the first half, when the second half starts, the game begins to stutter/jump/lag heavily, even though FPS remains normal. 
This also happens in the menu after exiting the match. 

I have tried: 
- updating GPU drivers (NVIDIA/AMD), 
- clearing shader cache, 
- running in Fullscreen mode, 
- disabling overlays (Steam, Discord, NVIDIA/AMD), 
- verifying game files. 

Nothing fixes the issue. It happens **every match** at the exact moment the second half starts. 

This does not happen in any previous FIFA or EA FC games I have played. It seems like a bug triggered when the game loads the second half assets or switches scenes.

18 Replies

  • ksyhung's avatar
    ksyhung
    Rising Rookie
    31 days ago

    I’m experiencing the same issue. For me, the FPS drop doesn’t only happen at the start of the second half, but also:
    - During the intro cutscenes before matches (fans entering the stadium, opponent’s lineup).
    - When opening packs with walkout animations.

    The gameplay itself runs very smoothly, but these scenes always cause heavy FPS drops (down to around 25–40 FPS) for a few seconds.

    I’ve also reported this problem to EA, but haven’t received any response yet. Hopefully, they will notice and fix it soon, since I see quite a lot of players experiencing the same thing.

    By the way, are you using an AMD CPU? I noticed that most people facing this issue are on AMD CPUs, myself included.

  • FreakSpirit's avatar
    FreakSpirit
    New Traveler
    31 days ago

    No, I'm on Nvidia, for me the moment the animation for second half started, the gameplay for whole second half is lagging constantly but I also notice the pack opening lag as well, but currently it's unplayable on competative mode

  • tapinmerchantgod's avatar
    tapinmerchantgod
    Seasoned Newcomer
    23 days ago

    same problem here ☹️ i have lost many ultimate team games due to this. would EA please respond?!?!

  • Taliannoo8's avatar
    Taliannoo8
    Rising Novice
    23 days ago

    Same problem, sometimes after the match, sometimes after 2 match or as the creator of this post said, from the second half (as soon as the half time menu pops up). I have tried everything,  making the graphics settings file to only readable, update driver updates, running the game as administrator, but nothing worked. Its a bit sad that the game came out almost 2 weeks, and for those who have this problem (a lot of people as i see), the game is unplayable☹️

  • kostinio7's avatar
    kostinio7
    Seasoned Newcomer
    23 days ago

    I have the same problem. Half time lags and then for a coule of seconds at the start of the 2nd half.

  • FreakSpirit's avatar
    FreakSpirit
    New Traveler
    22 days ago

    I found a temporary fix, which is not ideal at all, but it could give you the possibility to at least play the game. 
    Try go to Settings -> Display -> cap the fps to 60 and also turn on VSync. Also from Display settings try to reduce the image quality from 100 to 50. The image quality is not good but at least you will play the game. Of course EA need to fix this ASAP. 
    Share if this works for you guys

  • nacho_vidal1312's avatar
    nacho_vidal1312
    Seasoned Rookie
    22 days ago

    I did and the first half was fantastic but as soon as the second half starts it again was 1 fps. I went to configs and the vsync was off without reason.

  • opckohok6ng9's avatar
    opckohok6ng9
    Seasoned Newcomer
    18 days ago

    I use Intel CPU and also experience the same. I lowered graphics and it still lags at half time. 

  • Nadais04's avatar
    Nadais04
    Seasoned Newcomer
    17 days ago

    Same. As soon as the halftime menu pops up, the game drops to 5 FPS, being unplayable. We paid a lot of money on this game EA! Get a fix ASAP!

  • AgodLI's avatar
    AgodLI
    Newcomer
    15 days ago

    🟩 NVIDIA Users (GeForce) 1. Right-click desktop → open NVIDIA Control Panel 2. Go to Manage 3D Settings → Program Settings 3. Add EA SPORTS FC 26 (browse to FC26.exe if it’s not listed) 4. Scroll down → find Max Frame Rate 5. Turn it On and set it to 60 FPS (or your monitor’s refresh rate) 6. Click Apply

    Then disable V-Sync and FPS limit inside the game itself.

    🟥 AMD Users (Radeon) 1. Open AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 2. Go to Gaming → EA SPORTS FC 26 (add if missing) 3. Under Graphics, enable Frame Rate Target Control (FRTC) 4. Set it to 60 FPS 5. Turn Wait for Vertical Refresh (VSync) → Always off 6. Disable Radeon Chill 7. Save / Apply

  • GuddddVibezzz's avatar
    GuddddVibezzz
    Seasoned Newcomer
    12 days ago

    Same issues here. I’m losing matches because I can’t play the 2nd half with it being all jittery 

  • Brodson90's avatar
    Brodson90
    Rising Newcomer
    2 days ago

    Yeah, i have the same problem. Sometimes in first half, sometimes in second, sometimes after one match, somtimes after couple of matches, sometimes when i open pack, sometimes match intro

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