EA SPORTS FC™ 26 | FC 26 Holiday Update
Welcome to the Holiday Update for EA SPORTS FC™ 26, which will be released in the coming days. We’re updating goalkeepers for more authentic play based on your feedback, making improvements to Career Mode and Clubs, and bringing Classic XI Teams to Kick Off. Table Of Contents Goalkeeper Updates Career Mode Clubs Rush Rematch In Ultimate Team Classic XI in Kick Off AI Defending Status Update Visual Updates Goalkeeper Updates As mentioned in our November Feedback Update, we’ve been looking at your thoughts on Goalkeeper Movement, and the impact it has on the game. Here’s the change we’re making with the Holiday Update: – Greatly reduced movement speed and amount of ground covered when using Manual Goalkeeper Movement in open play. Goalkeeper movement is designed to give you another strategic way to defend goalscoring opportunities, so while we recognise it has felt inauthentic and we don't want players to overly rely on the mechanic, we want to allow a level of control in keeper positioning. Here’s a before and after look at the change. We’re also removing the Goalkeeper Rush To Center mechanic from open play because we’ve seen that it can be used as another method of goalkeeper movement that further reduces goalkeeper authenticity. First Time Shots We’ve heard your feedback that goalkeepers don’t always deal with first time shots as well as they should, and we’ve also seen this reflected in our internal data. In this update, we’re also addressing an issue that sometimes caused goalkeepers to react poorly to first time shots. You can check out the full Holiday Update Notes on the EASFC Tracker. Career Mode Functional and Usability Improvements We continue to expand Career Mode with new weekly Live Challenges, Live Start Points, and Snapshots. For this update we’re also making the below changes based on your feedback: Added a new field in Squad Hub indicating players' willingness to extend their contracts Added a new tab in the Manager Live Hub to streamline starting a new Live Start Point and Manager Live save, providing quicker access to previously earned retro kits rewards. Shortcut selections are now remembered automatically when exiting the switcher menu rather than requiring a manual selection save. Added an in-menu preview for mascots in the Create Your Club flow Addressed an issue in Create Your Club that prevented replacing a club other than your favourite team. In Player Career, the Player Archetype preview tile now displays both current XP and XP needed to reach the next level. Added Recommended Archetypes in the Player Career creation flow instead of Attributes. Clubs Archetype Max Level Increase In the Holiday Update, we’ll be increasing the Clubs Archetype Max Level from 60 to 75. You’ll also be able to use your AXP Instant Boost’s up to level 40, increasing from the original 25 level cap. The update also adds a new customizable PlayStyle slot and introduces a signature PlayStyle that upgrades into a PlayStyle+ once you hit level 75. Plus, you’ll now have up to 475 Attribute Points to use. CAM Match Rating Adjustment We’ve also heard your feedback surrounding CAM Match Ratings and will be updating the weights for CAM match actions, aligning CAM Match Ratings with the other positions across Clubs. The intent here is for the CAM Match Rating to more accurately reflect a CAM’s performance while reducing cases of potentially inflated ratings. Rush Rematch In Ultimate Team We’re introducing a new rematch function in Ultimate Team Rush that allows you to vote to opt in and keep playing Rush matches with your current group. Opting in will take your group forward in a new lobby together, while players who have opted out will return back to the Rush Ultimate Team Menus. If a player in a full group doesn’t choose to opt in before the timer expires, their full group will be returned back to the lobby. Rush rematches will become available soon after the Holiday Update, following a server release. Classic XI in Kick Off The Holiday Update will introduce a selection of classic teams in Kick Off and Kick Off Rush. Relive former glories with iconic European clubs, or play with an assortment of legendary figures with Classic XIs from Europe's biggest leagues. AI Defending Status Update We’ve seen your feedback around AI defending - especially some concerns that it can feel too strong in certain situations, and we’re continuing to look into it closely. Our teams are actively testing further AI defending adjustments internally. We’ll keep listening to your feedback and plan to share an update on what we find, or make a change if needed, in early January. Visual Updates New & Updated Star Heads 7 new player star heads and 1 updated manager star head are coming to EA SPORTS FC 26. You can expect to see improved likenesses of players across different leagues and clubs following a Server Release after the Holiday Update, including Premier League players Jarrod Bowen, Granit Xhaka, Jack Harrison and Rayan Aït-Nouril. Menu Refresh You can expect a festive transformation across the game's main menu following a server release, bringing the holiday spirit from the moment the game launches with falling snow and more. Thanks for checking out our Holiday Update Pitch Notes! We look forward to you experiencing all the new changes and additions coming to FC 26. – The EA SPORTS FC TeamEA SPORTS FC™ 26 | Clubs Deep Dive
Welcome to the EA SPORTS FC 26 Clubs Deep Dive Pitch Notes. From revamped player progression with Archetypes to dynamic Clubs Rush Live Events, and community-requested features like support for Multiple Clubs, we’re excited to bring significant Clubs updates to FC 26. Let’s jump into what we’re doing to make Clubs a deeper and more dynamic experience. Table of Contents Archetypes Archetype Progression How do I unlock Archetypes? How do I progress my Archetype? Leveling Up Archetypes Live Updates Archetype Card Consumables Signature PlayStyles & PlayStyles Slots Attributes Specializations Signature Perks Live Events How do I enter a Live Event Entry Requirements Multi-Stage Events Flexible Rules & House Rules Events Objectives & Rewards Revamped Clubs Lobby Role Fit and OVR Match Status Widget New Set Piece Assignments Multiple Clubs Clubs Rush & Playoff Rewards Be-A-Goalkeeper Revamp Be-A-Goalkeeper in Clubs Rush AI Facilities Gameplay Impact Other Improvements Clubs Gameplay Competitive Gameplay Fatigue Redesigned Match Rating Changes Expanded Quick Chat Options CPU AI Archetypes Archetypes deliver a new progression system to Clubs in FC 26. You’ll be able to unlock, progress, and develop 13 distinct player Archetypes, each inspired by an ICON of world football, and each built to give you options that fit your style of play. Each of the 13 Archetypes comes with its own set of unique characteristics, and the new customization experience gives you more control over how you develop your Pro. Archetype Progression How do I unlock Archetypes? When entering Clubs for the first time, you’ll select your first Archetype. The remaining 12 Archetypes can be obtained via Clubs Coins, FC Points, or Archetype Unlock consumable items that can be found as rewards. How do I progress my Archetype? Every time you play a Clubs match in EA SPORTS FC 26, you will earn Archetype XP (AXP). The more you play, the more AXP you can collect. The amount of AXP you earn will depend on: Your Role Rating - The bulk of your AXP earnings will come from your Role Rating. Obtaining a higher rating can yield better AXP rewards. Your Gameplay Actions - You will earn a small amount of AXP for every action you complete in a match. Match Type – Your AXP earned via Role Rating and Gameplay Actions will differ depending on whether you’re playing a Clubs League, Playoffs, Friendly, Drop-In, Clubs Rush, or Live Event match. You will also be able to earn AXP by playing Skill Games, though the amount that you can earn each week will be limited, just as it has been in the past. Once you’ve earned enough AXP, your Archetype will move up to the next level. It’s important to remember that each Archetype progresses separately. If you’ve unlocked multiple Archetypes, you’ll need to play matches with each one to level them up individually. Leveling Up As your progress your Archetype, you’ll receive rewards to help upgrade your attributes and abilities: Attribute Points (AP) – AP can be spent to upgrade your attributes, taking you one step closer to unlocking more PlayStyles or even a Specialization. Signature Playstyles Upgrades – Each of your Signature PlayStyles will upgrade to a PlayStyle+, maximizing your Archetype’s power on the pitch. Unlock Signature Perks – Unlock extra Signature Perks to make your Archetype stand out. Customizable PlayStyles Slots – Gain additional slots to further personalize your Archetype’s PlayStyles. Archetypes Live Updates At launch, each Archetype can be progressed from level 1 up to level 50. This will give you plenty of room to grow and develop your Archetype over time, however, the journey doesn’t end there. Throughout the season, you can expect the maximum level to increase, along with more changes and updates to Archetypes, meaning you’ll have more opportunities to further upgrade and personalize your favourite Archetypes as the season goes on. Archetype Card Your Archetype Card is the visual representation of you and your Archetype everywhere in Clubs. As you progress, your Archetype Card will update to reflect your journey from Bronze to ICON. Each Archetype has its own Archetype Card with a unique pose, background, and key attributes highlighted on the side to see how your Target measures up against someone else's. If you want to show off, you can customize your card with backgrounds earned through Season Pass rewards, objective rewards, or the Clubs Store. Your Archetype Card is not just for you, it’s how other players will see you during every big moment. You can expect to see Archetype Cards throughout the match experience, showcasing your Virtual Pro, progression, and achievements in new ways. Consumables Consumables introduce another way to impact your Archetype progression outside of playing matches or Skill Games. Our intent with consumables is to help players who join Clubs later in the lifecycle catch up and feel like they can still make an impact. There will be multiple Consumable types available in EA SPORTS FC 26, including: Archetype XP (AXP) Multipliers – Boost the AXP match rewards for a set number of matches. Direct Apply AXP – Instantly grant AXP to your active Archetype Note: To maintain balance, Direct Apply AXP Consumables can only be used on Archetypes under a predefined level, ensuring that the tool serves its purpose as a catch-up tool, rather than a shortcut to max level Archetypes. Archetype Unlocks – Allow you to obtain any locked Archetype via the Archetypes Screen. Archetype Resets – Return your spent Attribute Points to your wallet, allowing you to redistribute them as you see fit. You can unlock these Consumables through Season Pass rewards, objective rewards, or obtain them via the Clubs Store. This ensures that all players, whether they choose to purchase consumables or not, have the means to access them. Signature PlayStyles & PlayStyles Slots Signature PlayStyles Each Archetype in EA SPORTS FC 26 comes with its own set of unique Signature PlayStyles that reflect that Archetype’s style of play. These PlayStyles are automatically unlocked and equipped when you unlock your Archetype, and they’ll upgrade to PlayStyle+ as you progress with that Archetype. While Signature PlayStyles cannot be removed, you do have the option to swap them out for a different PlayStyle+ once you unlock and equip a Specialization for that Archetype, giving you some flexibility in customizing your items as you advance. Customizable PlayStyles Slots On top of your Signature PlayStyles, you’ll also have Customizable PlayStyles slots that allow you to tailor your Archetype to suit your own style. As you progress through your Archetype, the number of available Customizable PlayStyles slots increases, allowing for more flexibility in tailoring your Archetypes abilities. You can assign any PlayStyle to these slots, as long as your Archetype meets the necessary Attribute Unlock Requirements for that PlayStyle. Any PlayStyle equipped to your Customizable Slots will not upgrade to the PlayStyle+ version of that PlayStyle. Attribute Unlock Requirements Each PlayStyle has specific Attribute Unlock Requirements that must be met before it can be equipped. To unlock a PlayStyle, you need to upgrade the relevant attributes to the required value, which can be done either directly from the Edit Attributes screen or by selecting the PlayStyle directly from the Customizable PlayStyles screen (provided you have enough AP). These requirements are consistent across all Archetypes, meaning the AP cost to unlock a PlayStyle may vary depending on the starting attribute values of the chosen Archetype. For example, to unlock Dead Ball, you must first upgrade the attributes below. FK Accuracy - 75 Crossing - 80 ShotPower - 80 Attributes Min & Max Values Each Archetype has a unique set of minimum and maximum values for all attributes, as well as unique ranges for Weak Foot and Skill Moves. Upgrading Attributes With Archetypes, you’ll now be able to upgrade any attribute you want. When you level up your Archetype, you receive Attribute Points (AP) that can be used to improve any attribute directly from the Edit Attributes screen. As you increase an attribute, the AP cost for further upgrades will also rise, making higher values tougher to reach. Any upgrades you make are permanent, but if you want to reallocate your points, you can request an Archetype Reset (using Clubs Coins or a Reset Consumable), which returns all previously spent AP to your wallet. Key Attributes Each Archetype comes designated with four specific Key Attributes that complement the way your selected Archetype is built to play. These Key Attributes cost less AP to upgrade for that Archetype compared to others, making it more efficient to develop that Archetype in a way that suits its strengths. Key Attributes are highlighted by default when entering the Edit Attributes screen, making them easy to identify whenever you want to upgrade. Height & Weight To preserve gameplay balance, each Archetype comes with its own specific range for height and weight. While you can adjust your height or weight within this range to match your desired look or style of play, doing so will have a minor impact on a select few Attributes. These changes don’t alter the base attribute values of the Archetype itself. Instead, the adjustments are applied as a small increase or decrease to the relevant Attributes only when you enter a match in any Clubs mode, similar to how you experience a boost via Club Facilities. Specializations Specializations introduce three unique variants to each Archetype for you to develop toward over time, encouraging you to either break the mold or double-down on becoming the elite version of your chosen Archetype. Attribute Unlock Requirements Similarly to PlayStyles, Specializations are unlocked by upgrading certain attributes to the required value via the Edit Attributes screen. For example: Upgrading Finishing, Heading Accuracy, and Volleys past the required values will transform your playmaking Maestro Archetype into a box-crashing midfielder capable of changing the game with late runs into the box from deep. Specialization Upgrades By unlocking a Specialization, you gain an extra Signature Perk that will be assigned to your Archetype for as long as the Specialization remains equipped, and an additional Signature PlayStyle+ that can be assigned to one of your Archetype’s Signature PlayStyle slots. So transforming your Maestro into a Crasher will grant you First Touch+ to control those passes into the box, and the Box Crash Perk to help you slot it home. Only one Specialization can be equipped at a time, so if you unlock more than one, you’ll need to choose which to use in order to benefit from its rewards. Signature Perks Signature Perks are new on-pitch abilities designed to encourage you to embody your chosen Archetype or Specialization whenever you step on the pitch. Each Archetype comes with two Signature Perks that are unlocked through the course of your Archetype progression, while a third is equipped whenever you have a Specialization active. There are three types of Perks: Action-based perks activate after you perform a specific action and provide you with a temporary attribute boost. For example, the Press and Pass perk assigned to the Recycler Archetype delivers a temporary boost to Short Passing, Reactions, and Vision after regaining possession in your own half. Mechanic-based perks trigger when using a certain control or technique. A Creator Archetype, for instance, gets a boost to Curve, Short Passing, and Long Passing when making Precision Passes in the middle third via the Precise Pass perk. Team-focused perks benefit your teammates. If a Creator+ Specialization completes a through pass in the opponent's half, the receiver temporarily gains boosts in Finishing, Balance, and Ball Control via the Assistant perk. Live Events You can team up and compete in new ways with Live Events, delivering dynamic Clubs Rush tournament experiences. Each Live Event will bring new challenges with varying entry requirements, modified Rush gameplay, and alternate rules, creating fresh opportunities for you to earn rewards throughout the season. Each Live Event comes in the form of a single-elimination knockout tournament, where your skill will be tested across a max of four Rush knockout rounds. There’s also a brand new Rush Stadium, to give each tournament a more focused, intense atmosphere. Plus, you can celebrate on stage with your squad after a trophy win. Event Structure Each player starts with a limited number of attempts to win the tournament. Winning a match allows you to move on to the next round, while losing a match costs you an attempt and sends you back to the first round. Using up all your attempts will see you are eliminated from the event, though some events will reset your available attempts after a certain period, giving you another chance to participate. The tournament can only be won by claiming victory in consecutive matches across all rounds up to and including the Final. Event progress is tracked individually and not as a squad, and there is no time limit for starting your next match. So you can take your time editing your Archetype before attempting the next round with a new batch of teammates, just don’t wait too long, as each event will eventually expire. How do I enter a Live Event You’ll be able to see the full list of available and upcoming Live Events from the Live Events Tab in the Play menu. Simply select the available event you want to enter, and proceed into the lobby. From there, you can choose to invite your friends, or search for a match solo. All matchmaking will pair you with teammates and opponents at the same tournament stage, ensuring all players know exactly what is at stake. Each Live Event will always look to ensure you have a full squad of outfield players before entering a match, but in the event that a full squad can’t be found, a team of two human players minimum can proceed with AI teammates filling the open spots. In order to play with friends, you will need to all be at the same tournament round to proceed. If you happen to be in a later round than your lobbymates, then you can choose to reset your progress from inside the Live Event lobby in order to compete alongside them. Doing so will result in losing a tournament attempt. Entry Requirements Each Clubs Rush Live Event can have its own unique set of entry requirements, to increase the level of competition or introduce fun new challenges that shake up the Clubs Rush experience. Some events may require you to increase your Clubs Rush player rank, improve your selected Archetype to a predefined level, or even require you to use a specific Archetype in order to access the event. Multi-Stage Events Some events may even be linked together over multiple stages, where winning the first event will unlock a higher-tier event in the future where you’ll be playing for even bigger rewards. If you miss out on the first stage, no problem, some events will allow you to enter into a redemption stage, where you’ll get a second chance of making it to the next round. Flexible Rules & House Rules Events Whether it’s increasing the tension from the opening whistle by shortening the Match Length or staging Golden Goal matches, Clubs Rush Live Events are intended to give you a wide variety of experiences. We’ll have some exciting new Rush House Rules options exclusive to Clubs Rush Live Events including: Designated Scorer - Goals count as double when scored by your designated scorer. Stay alert, though, as the chosen player changes throughout the game. Rugby Rush - The referee’s not watching. Dominate your opponent with powerful shoulder barges that won't get penalised. Keep an eye out for these over the course of the FC 26 season. Objectives & Rewards Each Live Event will be linked to the Clubs Objectives system inside of FC Hub, providing you with more reason to put together a squad and take on the latest tournament. Rewards will vary from event to event, giving you the opportunity to earn cosmetic items for your Pro, Archetype card backgrounds, or even Consumables to help boost your Archetype’s progression. Revamped Clubs Lobby The Clubs Lobby has been redesigned for a cleaner layout and improved functionality. Role Fit and OVR You can check how well your Archetype selection fits the position & role of each vacant position in your club’s chosen tactic. Simply highlight any vacant position on the lobby pitch to observe your Role Fit. Perfect Fit - Your Archetype is a perfect match for this role and position. Good Fit - Your Archetype is a good fit for this position, but perhaps not the ideal role. Okay Fit - Your Archetype is not particularly suited to this role or position. Bad Fit - Out of Position Similarly, when navigating vacant positions on the lobby pitch, you can observe your Archetype’s OVR value for the highlighted position. Match Status Widget Receive real-time updates from in-progress matches, and monitor the status of Clubs League matchmaking or Friendly Challenge requests via the new Match Status Widget. New Set Piece Assignments A number of new Set Pieces assignments have been added to the Assignments tab, giving you more control over your routines. 2 new Attacking Corner Kick assignments Top of Box Defensive Cover 5 total (Near Post, Back Post, Target Player, Top of Box, Defensive Cover) 4 separate Defensive Corner Kick assignments Threat Marker Post Watcher Near Post Back Post Left Throw-in Taker Right Throw-in Taker Multiple Clubs You can now be a member of up to three clubs at any time, and can freely switch between them using the Switch Clubs function inside the Clubs menus. Clubs Rush & Playoff Rewards You will only be able to earn Clubs Rush & Clubs Playoffs rewards on behalf of a single favourite club that’s selectable from the Switch Clubs screen. You can switch your favourite club at any time during the season but you’ll need to make sure it’s set to the one you want before rewards are distributed at season’s end. Be-A-Goalkeeper Revamp There are a lot of updates to the Be-A-Goalkeeper (BAG) experience in FC 26, including new controls and assistance levels, PlayStyles for BAG, revamped UI components and updated presentation, featuring unique camera and audio treatments. For full details of the revamped Be-A-Goalkeeper experience, check out the Gameplay Deep Dive Pitch Notes. Be-A-Goalkeeper in Clubs Rush Be-A-Goalkeeper (BAG) players will now be able to test their ability on the Rush pitch exclusively in Clubs Rush. In support of this, the Clubs Rush matchmaking experience has undergone a few changes: The maximum lobby size has increased to 5 players (though 1 must be using a GK Archetype in order to proceed to a match). Whether your squad has a goalkeeper or not, matchmaking will attempt to find a squad similar to yours. If your group would prefer to play without a goalkeeper, you can disable the ‘Find GK’ setting inside your Clubs Rush lobby. AI Facilities Facilities are being expanded in FC 26 with the introduction of AI Facilities that boost the attributes for your AI teammates. With the Facility budget now shared between AI and Player Facility upgrades, club managers now have a lot more to think about when deciding how to best allocate their resources. Gameplay Impact AI Facilities are similar to Player Facilities, but with a few key differences: AI Facility upgrades will only come in the form of attribute increases. AI Facility upgrades are position-group specific, meaning you will have a group of Facilities dedicated to improving your Forwards, while another will be solely dedicated to training your Goalkeeper. So be sure to consider the position you and your clubmates will be taking up when allocating your budget. Other Improvements In response to community feedback, Player Facilities have also been rebalanced to provide more consistent value. Look out for more updates to Club Facilities throughout the FC 26 season. Clubs Gameplay Competitive Gameplay Competitive Gameplay is mandatory/locked in Clubs in FC 26. Our goal with Competitive Gameplay is to create a more competitive experience by reducing the impact of randomness and assistance. This is an experience tailored for players who enjoy fast-paced, responsive gameplay. The changes to Competitive Gameplay aim to deliver on the three competitive community priorities: Responsiveness, Consistency, and Control. For more details regarding Competitive Gameplay, check out our Gameplay Deep Dive Pitch Notes. Fatigue Redesigned The impact of Fatigue will be redefined on the Competitive Gameplay experience in FC 26 to support our goal of improving responsiveness across the game. When controlling your Pro: Short-term fatigue will continue to work as before. For example, when short-term stamina depletes, you will be slower when running until the fatigue bar recovers. You will no longer experience loss of Long-Term Fatigue. This applies to any time you are controlling a player, even if you are “Any” (alternating between players). For AI: AI Players have a reduction in Sprint Speed and Acceleration when fatigued (proportional to the fatigue level). Long-term and short-term fatigue are in effect. PlayStyles and Attributes Relentless and Relentless+ PlayStyles have been changed to increase how quickly your short-term fatigue recovers (more details in the PlayStyles section of the Gameplay Deep Dive). The Stamina attribute will continue to work as before, for example when determining how quickly your stamina bar depletes. Match Rating Changes Match Rating in Clubs has been redefined as Role Rating for FC 26, meaning each player’s performance will now be related to the actions that matter the most to their assigned Role (e.g. Box-to-Box, Playmaker, Inside Forward, etc). To ensure you are getting a rating that is based on the actions that matter to your role, we created several different categories: Goalkeeping, Defending, Dribbling, Shooting, Passing, and a unique group that includes stats such as Goals scored or conceded by the team, red cards, and even individual Goals or Assists. These will impact all players equally. You can find a breakdown of these ratings and how much they contribute to the total rating in the Performance screens during a match. Some similar Roles will be grouped together. For example, the rating of a CB with Defender or Stopper will be primarily based on their defensive actions, while the rating of a Ball-Playing CB will also consider the effectiveness of their passing. As an example, let's take two Central Midfielders who performed exactly the same in the same match, creating a number of key chances and providing an assist while performing identically in defense. One has been assigned the Box-to-Box role, while the other has been assigned the Playmaker role. Box-To-Box - Defensive and attacking actions are rated equally. This player may receive a Match Rating of 8.0 for their performance. Playmaker - Creative actions like through-passes, assists, and dictating the pace of play are weighted more heavily than defensive actions. This player may receive a Match Rating of 8.5 for their performance due to the increased value of chance creation when assessing this role. Expanded Quick Chat Options We have added four diverse Quick Chat categories, each featuring four messages for a deeper Social experience. After pressing a direction on the D-Pad a set of new messages will be selectable to provide further communication options to your teammates. Instructions (yellow) Keep it simple Drop back Passing game Push up Compliments (cyan) Golazo Thanks Let's go What a save Encouragement (magenta) Lock in Shake it off My bad Unlucky Celebrations (green) Cold Joga bonito GOAT GG CPU AI The Clubs CPU AI has received some improvements to the Call-for-Pass system, making the CPU more intelligent when considering pass requests and preferring better options when multiple requests come in at the same time. This improvement extends to both Clubs and Rush, ensuring the CPU Goalkeeper will choose better pass options when players spam the pass request. Thank you for taking the time to dive into the Clubs Pitch Notes. Be sure to check out the EA SPORTS FC Feedback Hub for all the ways you can share your feedback with us.EA SPORTS FC™ 26 | Nintendo Switch 2 Deep Dive
Hey everyone, welcome to the Nintendo Switch 2 Deep Dive for EA SPORTS FC 26, launching day and date with all other platforms. This year marks a big step forward as FC arrives on Nintendo Switch 2 with new platform-exclusive features, and the return of some familiar favorites from the original Nintendo Switch. We’ve listened to your feedback and built on what players enjoyed with FC 25 on Nintendo Switch, while also delivering new ways to connect, play, and share. Table of Contents Next-Gen Experience Switch 2 Features GameChat GameShare Returning Switch Features Touch Screen & Zoom Controls Split Joy-Con 2 Multiplayer Local Seasons Gameplay & Modes on Switch 2 New Gameplay Presets Archetypes Football Ultimate Team Career Mode Authenticity Technical Specs Next-Gen Experience EA SPORTS FC 26 on Nintendo Switch 2 brings gameplay and feature parity with PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S versions, giving players the same updates across gameplay and modes. This means all of the new FC 26 updates like more responsive dribbling, smarter AI positioning, lifelike animations, and new gameplay presets are fully available on Nintendo Switch 2. While achieving gameplay and feature parity with other platforms, Nintendo Switch 2 does not support crossplay with PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Nintendo Switch 2 Platform Exclusive Features GameChat GameChat is a new way to connect with other friends playing EA SPORTS FC 26 on Nintendo Switch 2. With built-in voice chat and optional video, up to four players can stay connected during matches, squad building, or even while browsing menus together. Easy Access: The C button on Nintendo Switch 2 makes it quick and easy to start a GameChat session. Voice & Video Options: Voice chat uses the console’s built-in microphone, while video requires a compatible USB-C camera accessory for those who want face-to-face communication. A compatible USB-C camera, such as the Nintendo Switch 2 camera (sold separately), is required to use video chat. Shared Screen: While connected, you can also share what’s happening on your screen, whether it’s a big Ultimate Team win or a key moment in Clubs. GameChat helps keep communication seamless and social, making it easier to coordinate tactics or just enjoy the game with friends no matter where you’re playing. GameShare With GameShare via GameChat, you can invite another Nintendo Switch 2 player into your session as a guest via online play, even if they don’t own FC 26. The host can also add up to three local players, making it possible for four people to play together. Flexible Sessions: GameShare is supported locally, to Nintendo Switch 2 or Nintendo Switch consoles, or online via GameChat, so you can link up whether you’re in the same room or miles apart. Up to Four Players: Sessions can include up to three players on the host console plus one guest, all sharing the same match screen. No EA Account Required for Guests: Friends joining as guests can jump straight into the action without needing an EA account. Mirror Mode: Play together in Kick-Off mode with all players sharing the host’s screen, replicating the feeling of playing side by side on the same console. GameShare opens up new ways to play socially, making it easier to bring more friends into FC 26 on Nintendo Switch 2. Returning Nintendo Switch Features Alongside new additions to Nintendo Switch 2, several features from FC on Nintendo Switch return to give players familiar, flexible ways to play. Touch Screen & Zoom Controls When playing in handheld mode, you can use the touchscreen to navigate menus, set up tactics, or adjust match instructions with a simple tap. Pinch-to-zoom also returns, letting you zoom in or out with two fingers to get a closer look at the action. Once you release the screen, the zoom level holds for a few seconds before resetting to normal. This offers an extra layer of convenience, especially for managing lineups or making adjustments quickly. Split Joy-Con 2 Multiplayer With split Joy-Con 2 controller support, two players can share a pair of controllers to play together in local matches. Left and right Joy-Con 2 controllers can be used individually, making it easy to jump into co-op or 1v1 play without needing additional consoles or accessories. Setting it up is simple. To activate, just split Joy-Con 2 controller on the side select screen, then press the SL and SR buttons on each Joy-Con 2 controller to confirm. Once both players are ready, you’re set to go. Local Seasons Local Seasons allows two nearby Nintendo Switch 2 players to connect via local wireless and compete without the need for an internet connection or a Nintendo Switch Online membership. Using the console’s local communication feature, you can start a match against a friend within a short range, even in places with limited internet access. Progress is tracked across a full season, giving you and your opponent the chance to battle it out for bragging rights over multiple matches. Gameplay & Modes on Nintendo Switch 2 Because Nintendo Switch 2 brings gameplay and feature parity with PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions, every new feature introduced this season is available here as well. Gameplay Presets Two new gameplay styles change how matches feel across different modes. Competitive sharpens head-to-head play in Ultimate Team and Clubs with quicker ball movement, smarter goalkeeper reactions, and more direct control. Authentic is tuned for Career and offline experiences, with defenders staying more disciplined, more realistic corner success rates, and goalmouth scrambles that capture the drama of real football. Learn more in the FC 26 Gameplay Deep Dive. Archetypes Clubs and Player Career now include Archetypes, footballer classes inspired by iconic players. You’ll select a base Archetype and then evolve your abilities across the season by earning XP, boosting attributes, and unlocking unique perks, giving your player a distinct identity on the pitch. Learn more in the FC 26 Clubs Deep Dive. Football Ultimate Team™ Ultimate Team is expanding with more ways to compete. Tournaments return with knockout formats, Live Events deliver themed competitions throughout the year, and Bounties offer challenges that reward progress in new ways. Rivals and Champs have been refreshed, and Challengers introduce a second-tier weekend competition to open up the high-stakes atmosphere to more players. Learn more in the FC 26 FUT Deep Dive. Career Mode Manager Career now features Live Challenges, short- and long-form scenarios in the new season that draw from both real-world storylines and alternative football paths. Completing these challenges rewards you with Season Points, Vanity items, and ICONs or Heroes for use in modern-day clubs. A new Manager Market also adds variety each season, as clubs change tactics and identity when new managers are appointed. Learn more in the FC 26 Career Mode Deep Dive. Authenticity Experience unrivalled authenticity in EA SPORTS FC™ 26, featuring 20,000+ players across 750+ clubs and national teams in over 120 stadiums and 35+ leagues. EA SPORTS FC™ 26 is the only place you can play the iconic UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Europa Conference League, CONMEBOL Libertadores, Premier League, Bundesliga, and LALIGA EA SPORTS in the same game, alongside the Frauen-Bundesliga, Liga F, Barclays FA Women’s Super League, D1 Arkema, National Women's Soccer League, and the UEFA Women's Champions League. Read more in the FC 26 Authenticity news article. Additional Platform Details Nintendo Switch 2 also includes some visual adjustments to enable consistent performance, including simplified hair rendering, lower-resolution grass and crowd textures, and reduced sideline details. We are exploring all possible options for further optimizing FC 26 general visual quality on Nintendo Switch 2. We can share more info down the road once it's available, and we’ll continue to closely monitor your feedback in this area Join the Conversation We’re excited to bring the full FC 26 experience to Nintendo Switch 2 and can’t wait for you to try out GameChat, GameShare, and all of the other new features. Please continue sharing your thoughts with us in the FC Feedback Hub and by joining the conversation in the EA SPORTS FC Discord.EA SPORTS FC™ 26 | FC Pro 26 Deep Dive
FC Pro enters its third season. Whether you're a returning champion or rising star, this is your shot at reaching the FC Pro World Championship. Here is everything you need to know about how to get involved. Season 3 Key Updates Qualification Pathway Next season’s FC Pro World Championship will see a redistribution of seats which will result in twice as many players qualifying through the World Championship Play-Ins. This will put the number of direct league qualifications at 16 and the FC Pro Open at 8. FC Pro World Rankings The FC Pro World Rankings will also see a change, with different regions providing a different number of points that reflect the activity in the region. These changes will apply to all competitions from the FC Pro 26 season. Full details will be available on the FC Pro World Rankings page. FC Pro Open Ladder & Global Qualifier Our biggest changes come in the Path to the FC Pro Open with major changes to how you will participate in FC Pro Open Ladder and a brand new, in-person way to qualify for the FC Pro Open Global Qualifier. Read on to find out more. Path to FC Pro Open FC Pro Open is a competition that challenges you to show what you have by working up the ranks in FC and earning your spot on the big stage alongside the giants of the game. This year, we’re excited about two significant changes with our FC Pro Open Ladder and FC Pro Open Global Qualifier to make this the most accessible FC Pro Open yet. 1. FC Pro Open Ladder Dates: September 22nd to October 1st, 2025 Our first update is a big one: We are very excited to announce that FC Pro registration and FC Pro Open Ladder will be available directly from the game this year. If you reach Division 4 on PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X|S, you will be able to play in FC Pro Open Ladder anytime, every day from September 22nd to October 1st. This will be a brand new game mode within EA SPORTS FC 26 that will make getting involved in FC Pro easier than ever before. The FC Pro tab will be visible when an FC Pro Live Event is available from the new Ultimate Team Play Menu. Only once you achieve Division 4 in Rivals will you be able to access it. Here, you’ll compete against the best of the best to earn exclusive cosmetics to celebrate your accomplishments and onward qualification to FC Pro competition. Please note that only PlayStation 5 competitors will be eligible to move on to FC Pro Open Regional Qualifiers. Both PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S competitors will be eligible for in-game rewards. You do not need to register first on any external website. The entire process, including all matchmaking, will be handled in-game just like playing in Rivals or Champions. Players will be ranked based on their Elo rating – a number that changes based on the result of their matches and the relative skill of their opponent. The following number of players from the leaderboard will move on to the next stage of competition from each region based on the best Elo rating they achieve during the ladder period: Africa - Top 64 Asia North - Top 32 Asia South - Top 32 Europe West - Top 256 Europe East - Top 256 Latin America North - Top 64 Latin America South - Top 256 Middle East - Top 256 North America - Top 64 Oceania - Top 32 2. FC Pro Open Regional Qualifier Dates: October 11th to 12th, 2025 Those who finish at the top of their respective regions in the FC Pro Open Ladder will compete in an online competition to determine who will move on to the FC Pro Open Global Qualifier. FC Pro Open Regional Qualifiers will follow a swiss stage followed by a double elimination knockout stage to determine who will get the trip to our first in-person, broadcast tournament of the season. Like previous seasons, our tournament platform partner will run this stage with registration and logistics handled on their website. A total of 48 players will move on to the next stage of competition: Africa - Top 2 Asia North - Top 2 Asia South - Top 2 Europe West - Top 12 Europe East - Top 12 Latin America North - Top 2 Latin America South - Top 6 Middle East - Top 6 North America - Top 2 Oceania - Top 2 All competitors who qualify to the Global Qualifier will have their travel covered by EA. 3. FC Pro Open Global Qualifier Dates: October 31st to November 2nd, 2025 We are excited to share that this season’s FC Pro Open Global Qualifier will take place at DreamHack Atlanta and for folks who don’t qualify through the Regional Qualifiers, there will be an additional opportunity to qualify for the Global Qualifier through a Last Chance Qualifier. This event will consist of a 256-player open bracket that will take place on Friday and the first half of Saturday to determine the final 4 players who will compete in the Global Qualifier. The top 128 players on the FC Pro World rankings following the World Championship will receive an invitation to register early for the Last Chance Qualifier ahead of open registration. Open registration is set to begin later this month and will be facilitated by DreamHack. Keep an eye on FC Pro social channels for more information. In addition to the competitors who qualify from the Last Chance Qualifier and FC Pro Regional Qualifier, the following competitors will start the FC Pro Open Global Qualifier in the swiss stage on Saturday afternoon: Name Team Abu Makkah Team Falcons Jafonso Al Nassr Esports nicolas99fc Cloud9 Stingrayjnr Twisted Minds Emre Yilmaz Team Liquid FacuCowen Tuzzy Esports KTzn Galatasaray Esports Yuval Gaimin Gladiators GuiBarros RBLZ Gaming ManuBachoore Team Liquid PHzin Tuzzy Esports xcharifx Free Agent The top 32 players from the 64 player swiss stage will move onto the double elimination stage on Sunday. The 32 players will be split into 4 groups with the top 4 from each group moving onto FC Pro Open. FC Pro Open Our flagship competition is back for a third season. The FC Pro Open is a weekly competition that plays out from November to January with some of the best FC players from all over the globe. The following players have secured their place in FC Pro Open by finishing in the Top 4 of last season’s FC Pro Open: Player Team Vejrgang Team Falcons Obrun Exeed Levi de Weerd Team Liquid LJR Peixoto FC Lorient After the FC Pro World Championship, we will have four more names confirmed. If any player places in the Top 4 of both the FC Pro Open and World Championship this season, the top ranked player(s) in the FC Pro World Ranking as of September 1st will earn the spot(s). Schedule This year’s FC Pro Open will see the addition of two super weeks to open and close the season—back-to-back competition days for a strong start and finish. Date Time Group Stage, Day 1 Monday, November 24th, 2025 18:00 UTC Group Stage, Day 2 Tuesday, November 25th, 2025 18:00 UTC Group Stage, Day 3 Monday, December 1st, 2025 18:00 UTC Group Stage, Day 4 Monday, December 8th, 2025 18:00 UTC Group Stage, Day 5 Monday, January 5th, 2026 18:00 UTC Group Stage, Day 6 Monday, January 12th, 2026 18:00 UTC Group Stage, Day 7 Monday, January 19th, 2026 18:00 UTC Group Stage, Day 8 Tuesday, January 20th, 2026 18:00 UTC Finals Monday, January 26th, 2026 TBC 24 players will make it through the qualification path to the FC Pro Open and showcase their skill in our most involved competition of the year. Competitors will be placed into four groups of six. All players will compete against each other in each group twice. Once before the holiday break, and once after. At the end of the group stage, 12 competitors will qualify for the single elimination Championship. In each group: 1st will move directly to Top 8 and immediately earn a World Championship seat 2nd & 3rd will make it to Open Finals 4th will be invited back to FC Pro Open Global Qualifier next season 5th & 6th will need to start their journey from scratch next season At the FC Pro Open Finals: Top 4 of 12 will be invited back to the FC Pro Open next season while the others will be invited back to the Global Qualifier Top 8 of 12 will earn a direct seat at the FC Pro World Championship FC Pro Open Cups Through the FC Pro Open Period, there will continue to be FC Pro Open Cups for players to compete for a place in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins. Ladder Dates Playoff Dates November Cup November 4th to 11th, 2025 November 15th to 16th, 2025 December Cup December 9th to 16th, 2025 December 20th to 21st, 2025 January Cup January 6th to 16th, 2025 January 31st to February 1st, 2025 Players who perform well in each Ladder will move on to the respective Playoffs as follows: Africa - Top 64 Asia North - Top 32 Asia South - Top 32 Europe West - Top 256 Europe East - Top 256 Latin America North - Top 64 Latin America South - Top 256 Middle East - Top 256 North America - Top 64 Oceania - Top 32 from Ladder Competitors will then play in a swiss into single elimination tournament to earn points to compete for prizing based on their finish. After the three FC Pro Open Cups, the competitors with the most points in each region will receive an invitation to the Play-Ins: Africa - Top 2 Asia North - Top 2 Asia South - Top 2 Europe West - Top 6 Europe East - Top 6 Latin America North - Top 2 Latin America South - Top 2 Middle East - Top 2 North America - Top 2 Oceania - Top 2 FC Pro Open Prizing A total of $1,000,000 USD in prizing will be available across FC Pro Open competitions. FC Pro Open Finishing Placement Prizing 1st $100,000 2nd $60,000 3rd to 4th $35,000 5th to 8th $25,000 9th to 12th $20,000 13th to 16th $12,500 17th to 20th $10,000 21st to 24th $8,000 FC Pro Open Global Qualifier Finishing Placement Prizing 17th to 24th $5,000 25th to 32nd $4,000 33rd to 64th $2,500 FC Pro Open Cups Europe East and Europe West Finishing Placement Prizing 1st $8,500 2nd $5,000 3rd to 4th $2,500 5th to 8th $1,000 LATAM North, LATAM South, MIddle East, and North America Finishing Placement Prizing 1st $5,000 2nd $3,000 3rd to 4th $1,500 Africa, Asia North, Asia South, and Oceania Finishing Placement Prizing 1st $3,000 2nd $1,500 FC Pro Leagues FC Pro is only possible in partnership with our many football league partners around the world. A selection of our league partners will return with two seats each directly into the World Championship. We will also have many returning and new league partners who will send players directly to the World Championship Play-Ins. Keep an eye on fcpro.com for more information about our FC Pro League partners as they’re announced! The finals determining which players will advance from our FC Pro Leagues into the World Championship and Play-Ins will begin in February and run through to May. FC Pro World Championship The best players in the world from across every part of the FC Pro ecosystem will meet to crown the World Champion and win their share of the $1,000,000 USD prize pool. Details about how you can compete and watch will be announced in the coming months. Get Ready for FC Pro 26 Pre-orders are now live for EA SPORTS FC 26. You’ll be able to make your way towards your goals in FC Pro as soon as the game’s early access period starts on September 19th. Don’t forget to tune in and watch the crowning of our FC Pro World Champion. For the EA SPORTS FC Pro 26 Official Rules, click here.EA SPORTS FC™ 26 | FC 26 Launch Update
Hey everyone, EA SPORTS FC™ 26 is nearly here, and this year brings a refreshed approach to Live Content across Football Ultimate Team™, Clubs, and Career Mode. From day one, the experience is designed to set a clear direction, celebrate football’s biggest stories, and deliver more variety and balance across modes. These Pitch Notes outline what you can expect at launch, how we are shaping progression and rewards, and the strategy guiding Live Content throughout the season. Table of Contents Intro and Launch Dates Power Curve and Chemistry Styles Early Access Content & Cornerstones FC 26 Seasons: A World Tour Through History Season 1: England 66 World Tour: Silver Superstars Live Events: Tournaments & Gauntlet Game Mode & Reward Changes Evolutions ICONs and Heroes Pre-order Content Returning User Rewards and Graduated Access Updated Match Outcomes In Football Ultimate Team UT RUSH Match Outcomes / Matchmaking Delays EA Play Rewards Club Member Rewards Preseason Rewards Responsiveness Gameplay Clubs Career Mode Path to FC Pro Intro and Launch Dates There’s nothing like that new season feeling, so here are some key dates to help you start planning your first days in FC 26. Companion and Web App: Web app launches September 17. Companion App refresh goes live on September 18. Early Access: Ultimate Edition players can start at midnight local time on September 19 on Console and September 18, 1 PM BST on PC. EA Play members can access a 10-hour early access trial, while EA Play Pro members on PC get unlimited access. For more information on EA Play please visit ea.com/ea-play. Worldwide Launch: Standard Edition opens at midnight local time on September 26 on Console and September 25, 1 PM BST on PC. Early Access & Cornerstones To celebrate the return of Tournaments in Football Ultimate Team™, Early Access will feature a Daily Knockout Tournament. You can compete daily to earn rewards and qualify for a one-time Early Access finale tournament on the final day of Early Access. More on that in the Live Events section below. Early Access will also include the following: Team of the Week 1 and 2 Evolutions World Tour and Squad Foundations releases Flashback SBC Showdown SBCs Opportunities to earn Season Points The first campaign after Early Access will be Cornerstones. This campaign shines a spotlight on the players that teams are built around, dependable leaders, pivotal long-term signings, and young talents who’ve stepped up to become central to their clubs’ success. Cornerstones will provide permanent upgrades and enhanced +2 Club chemistry links, strengthening their role as the central pillar of your Ultimate Team. Keep an eye out for more new FUT Campaigns, as well as the return of some spooky favourites. Power Curve We’ve heard your feedback on the pace of the FC 25 power curve. In FC 26, we’re deliberately slowing down the curve and pacing out upgrades more gradually. What This Means in FUT Base Items: Rare Golds, ICONs, and Heroes will set the benchmark for top squads deeper into the year. From day 0, content is structured around this philosophy. For example, more of the Season 1 campaign player items will be tuned with upgrades that are more lateral to base items. In addition, you won’t see August POTM Player SBCs in Early Access this year and Showdown Player SBC winner upgrades will also be adjusted for Season 1 to a +1 OVR and Role++ upgrade. Weekly Campaigns: You’ll still see new campaign squads most weeks, but the boosts to those campaign items will be more lateral on average. Of course, the bigger campaigns, like Black Friday, Team of the Year, and Team of the Season, will still deliver items with significant stat boosts. However, in between you can expect more measured boosts and lateral upgrades that are focused more on expanding the pool of squad-building options. Rewards: Rewards from Champs, Rivals, Squad Battles, SBCs, Evos, Seasonal ladder, offers in the Store and more are tuned to match this new pacing. More on that below. In summary, FC 26 slows the pace of progression. Squads will generally be slightly lower rated at the same point compared to FC 25, and weekly campaigns drops will feature smaller attribute boosts on average. Rewards and paid offers are also tuned to match this steadier curve. Chemistry Styles Refresh To support this slower curve, Chemistry Styles have also been rebalanced in FC 26 helping to keep upgrades feel satisfying without letting any single Chemistry Style disrupt the overall balance of Items: New Boost Model: Styles now use a 3/6/9-point boost system instead of 4/8/12, narrowing stat gaps and keeping balance tighter. Pace Trade-Offs: Pace-heavy styles are now more of a choice. Boosting speed comes with trade-offs in other areas, so not all Items become pace-focused. More Diversity: Non-pace styles have been tuned to emphasize key attributes like Composure, Reactions, and Stamina, encouraging different builds across your club. FC 26 Seasons: A World Tour Through History In FC 25, we introduced Seasonal content like the World Tour alongside campaigns, adding new dimensions to rewards and squad building. In FC 26, Seasons take another step forwards, tying football’s greatest stories directly into Football Ultimate Team™. Football is about stories, and international football provides the biggest stories of all. To celebrate, FC 26 Seasons will take you on a journey through the eras, revisiting legendary tournaments with A World Tour Through History. Each Season will center on a historic international tournament, culminating in Season 8: The Festival of Football. Along the way, host nation and winning nation players will appear across the Season Ladder, SBCs, and Objectives, while the most influential stars from each tournament will be honored through a brand new seasonal Player Program. Season 1: England '66 Our journey begins with England ‘66, known as the year football came home. Theme: English, Premier League, and Barclays Women's Super League focused content to celebrate the triumph of the Wingless Wonders. Rewards: Earn Packs, Player Picks, Player items, Stadium Customization, Evolution Cosmetics in Ultimate Team and more across Clubs & Career Seasonal Excellence: Close the Season with a One Nation Tournament where you’ll test your English squad. Season Pass content requires gameplay to unlock. Premium Pass content also requires the Premium Pass (sold separately) World Tour: Silver Superstars We’re bringing back a fan favorite with a new twist to celebrate international football! Each Season we’ll be releasing Silver-level ICONs and Heroes from the highlighted tournament, featuring illustration-style Action Shots for added flair and to differentiate them from base and campaign ICONs. Balance: Each Item will be created at Silver level, with ratings that reflect tournament performance, on an alternate progression path. This lets us deliver fun, accessible Items while preserving the core FUT power curve. How to earn: Complete themed long-term Season Objectives to earn Silver Superstars. Objectives vary in difficulty, with rewards that match the challenge. Live Events: Each Season ends with a Silver-only match-limited League where you can unleash your Silver Superstars for unique international-themed rewards. Other more relaxed Silver Events may appear throughout each Season and the cycle. Note about Evolutions: In Season 1, Evolutions will exclude entry of World Tour Silver Superstars. Entering a Silver Superstar into an Evolution may change OVR or rarity, making them permanently ineligible for Silver Events Live Events In FC 25, you told us there wasn’t enough variety in game modes and that many experiences didn’t feel accessible enough.. Live Events in FC 26 are built to change that. They bring new formats, fresh ways to play and earn, and rewards that scale to the level of competition you take on, whether you want a lighter, casual experience or matches where every win counts. Three Event Types Tournaments: Classic knockout competitions, ranging from formats with lighter rewards to battles where every match matters and rewards are more meaningful. Gauntlets: Gauntlets are multi-squad challenges that test your Club depth across several rounds. In each round, you’ll field a new squad, meaning you can’t rely on the same eleven and bench throughout. There’s no elimination - you’ll always play through the full Gauntlet - but the more rounds you win, the better your rewards. Regular Events: An evolution of Friendlies featuring themed competitions. These include unlimited-attempt Exhibitions for a casual experience, and match-limited Leagues for a more competitive feel. They add custom rules, themed Objectives, and structured rewards to keep things fresh. Key Launch Moments Daily Knockout Tournament (Early Access): Celebrating the return of Tournaments, a Daily Knockout will run during Early Access. The Early Access Elimination will refresh every day, allowing Tournament winners to re-enter the next day. Winning once will qualify you for a one-time Early Access finale tournament on the final day of Early Access. Note that tournaments won’t always appear weekly, we're keeping them special so they feel impactful. Ultimate Gauntlet: Debuting after Worldwide Launch Weekend and returning every two weeks in Season 1, this flagship format challenges you to build up to three unique squads across different rounds. You will have 1 attempt every day throughout the week with no specific Squad requirements so you can decide your first, second and third squad Each squad requires 11 starters and 7 bench players, so you’ll need 18 players per round and as many as 54 across three rounds. Test the depth and versatility of your entire Club, along with how you strategically spread your players across squads to maximize performance. Rewards scale with results, including Packs, Players, and Evo Consumables. The number of rounds will change in future seasons. You can expect one or two Live Events each week, with a focus on quality over quantity. Our goal is to make every Event feel meaningful. Some will lean more casual, offering unlimited or near-unlimited attempts with lighter rewards, while others will be hard fought battles where every match counts and the rewards scale up accordingly. More on rewards below. Most Events will be available to preview in advance so you’ll know what’s coming up. Rewards, however, will only be shown ahead of time for select Events. They’ll be revealed when the Event goes live otherwise. Game Mode & Reward Changes In FC 26, we’ve made changes based on your feedback while introducing new features to keep gameplay fresh. Live Events bring new formats like Gauntlet and the return of Tournaments, while core modes like Rivals and Champions have been reworked to be more accessible and better balanced for all players. Champions More Accessible: Champions Playoffs are removed, Champions Qualification Points can now be earned from Division 7, and you’ll auto-qualify at Division 6 once you have enough points. This lowers the barrier to entry and is in response to your FC 25 feedback around the desire for greater accessibility to Champions Expanded Tiers: Ranks expanded from 10 to 15 tiers, with rewards granted for every win. This makes sure that every win counts, with milestone tiers now available at 12 and 14 wins. Challengers: A new version of Champions for Division 7 and below, with its own format and rewards. This lets more players experience the Champions environment, while lighter rewards preserve the prestige of top-tier Champions. Rivals New Bounties: Seasonal challenges that differ by division add variety and reward players with items such as Champions Qualification Points, Coins, Season Points, Weekly Reward Points, Division Ladder Skips, and Packs/Picks. After every Rivals match, players have a chance to receive a new Bounty, keeping Rivals progression fresh and rewarding across all skill levels. Win Streaks: Streaks now accelerate both division progress and progress towards weekly rewards, reducing the time required to progress through gameplay. Reduced Points Requirement: Lowered from 35 → 30 in response to FC 25 feedback that players wanted a lower the match threshold for rewards. With added points from Win Streaks and Bounties, players should need about 5 fewer matches per week to reach the upgraded tier. Limited Checkpoints: Introduced to reduce friction from situations where players promote and then immediately drop back down. Checkpoints make progression smoother while still allowing relegation, ensuring players don’t get stuck in divisions above their skill level. Squad Battles Expanded Match Limit: In response to players asking for more depth in Squad Battles in FC 25, players can now play up to 18 matches per week (increased from 14) that count towards their weekly point total. This gives offline players more meaningful matches each week. Draft Rewards: Rewards have been rebalanced to feel more consistent across all tiers, addressing FC 25 feedback that you wanted more consistent Draft reward outcomes, especially for players finishing 4/4 wins. Scaling Rewards: In previous years, Draft did not see any changes to their rewards throughout the year. In FC 26, we’ll be updating Draft rewards regularly, similar to other game modes. This ensures rewards feel meaningful throughout the year. Rewards & Economy Reward Progression: As outlined in the power curve section, rewards in FC 26 are tuned to provide more measured progression and a more stable transfer market. As an example, below you can find the Rank 1 rewards for FUT Champs Finals for Season 1. Rank 1 FUT Champs Finals Rewards – FC 26 (Season 1) 85,000 Coins 2x current Campaign Guarantee (Untradeable) 3x 83+ TOTW Player Pack 3x 88+ Rare Gold Player Pack 10x 84+ Rare Gold Players Pack 10x 83+ Rare Gold Players Pack 10x 84+ Rare Gold Players Pack (Untradeable) Advanced SBCs Rebalancing:. Advanced SBCs such as the League & Nation Hybrid set have evolved over time, and in FC 26 they’re aligned more closely with other Challenge SBCs at launch. In FC 26, they’re tuned to support a smoother build-up that better matches the early pace of the game. Timed & Scaled Releases: Advanced SBCs will now drop gradually across the cycle, aligned with key seasonal moments, with requirements and rewards that scale to the state of the game. The first Season 1 set will be themed around England ‘66. Challenges Tab: Advanced SBCs now sit in the Challenges Tab, set apart from Foundation SBCs to highlight their greater difficulty. Evolutions in FC 26 Evolutions in FC 26 are meant to give players greater control over their Squads through more accessible and personalised ways to upgrade Player Items. Power Curve: In FC 26, Evolutions will be more focused on boosting the level of bottom and middle tier items of your squad rather than consistently creating the items with the highest stats, though they’ll still do that occasionally. In addition, Evolutions upgrades will be delivered in smaller, iterative steps - many of which will be fueled by repeatable Evolutions. This approach means Evolutions will push the top end of the curve less, but provide more depth and customization, complementing rather than overpowering Campaign Items. Club Depth: Many Evolutions will be designed to help support building multiple squads, aligning with new experiences like Gauntlet where squad depth is key. Repeatable Evolutions: Select Evolutions can now be repeated. Each comes with a set number of repeats and a cooldown that begins only after completing the previous run. This is intended to help create a steady rhythm of progress and strategic choice, whether to invest in one standout player or spread upgrades across the squad. Visuals: Most Evolutions that provide incremental upgrades will no longer change your Item Design, allowing you to preserve the original look and feel of your player items. Evolutions that deliver larger upgrades or are tied to a Campaign will still update your item design. ICONs and Heroes ICON and Hero content expands in FC 26 with additions that span Football Ultimate Team™ and Career Mode. New ICONs: Zlatan Ibrahimović, Francesco Totti, Andrés Iniesta, Cha Bum-kun, Toni Kroos, Giorgio Chiellini, Oliver Kahn, Marcelo, Alex Morgan, Caroline Seger, Sissi, and Steffi Jones join the Class of 26. Career Mode Availability: ICONs and Heroes remain available beyond Football Ultimate Team™ and feature in Career Mode. Details below. Heroes: New FC 26 Heroes arrive through FUT Campaigns across the cycle, starting in Season 2. This includes the Bayern Hero Vote winner! Pre-order Content We want Ultimate Edition owners to understand exactly what to expect and when to expect it. Pre-Order specific: Debut ICONs: Players who pre-ordered the Ultimate Edition by August 26th will get their Debut ICON when they start Football Ultimate Team™ for the first time. This pack with the Debut ICON will be available to open starting September 19 at 6 PM UTC. The Debut ICON will then graduate to the Champion ICON version on November 27. The Debut ICONs will be added to the Ultimate Team pool of items on 29 November. Premium Ladder: Ultimate Edition pre-orders get the premium ladder of the Season 1 Pass. All Ultimate Edition Users: FC Points Delivery: Ultimate Edition users get 2,000 points at first login, 2,000 on the same or closest day the following month, and 2,000 the month after. Example: Start on 19 September and receive on September 19, October 19, and November 19. Ultimate Edition EVO Slot: This will let you upgrade two Evolution players in standard evolutions at the same time from launch - the Training Camp Evolution limit will remain one. Available to claim at first Football Ultimate Team™ login. Graduated Access / Football Ultimate Team Transfer Market Limiting transfer market access for new accounts safeguards the FUT economy while actual new players are introduced to FUT at a more measured pace. Graduated Access: We covered some of the details of Graduated Access in FC 26 in our FUT Deep Dive Pitch Notes, but essentially, players/accounts new to FC will not have Transfer Market access until they complete the Foundation Objective Group ‘On Your Way’. Once this Objective Group has been completed, full FUT Transfer Market access would be granted in 48 hours for players on PC, and within 24 hours for players on the other platforms. During the 24/48 hour period, players will have access to list Items on the Transfer Market, but will not have access to search the Transfer Market and Bid/Buy Now actions until the time period has elapsed. The specific details listed here may be adjusted in the future as we monitor player behavior. Skip for Returning Players: Eligible players returning from EA SPORTS FIFA 23, EA SPORTS FC™ 24, and EA SPORTS FC™ 25 in good standing skip Graduated Access and get direct Transfer Market access, in-game and on the Companion and Web App. Updated Match Outcomes In Football Ultimate Team In FC 26, we’re making some changes to address your feedback around match outcomes when a match ends early in a draw. Quits & Disconnects In A Draw: We touched on the changes we are making to match outcomes in FUT in a previous Pitch Notes, but in short, you can receive a win when your opponent either quits or disconnects (including dashboarding) from the match when the score is a draw. This applies when certain conditions are met, and when playing Live Events, Rivals, and Champions. At FC 26 launch, one of these conditions must apply in order for a win to be awarded. 45 minutes (in-game time) has passed The quitting / disconnecting player concedes a penalty kick. The quitting / disconnecting player has received a red card. In addition, at launch, a player can only receive a win from this 5 times a day, with the limit resetting at 00:00 UTC daily. Reiterating what we have said previously, this is a complex space. When we change how players get wins, draws, or losses, exploits can be unintentionally introduced, so we must be careful about how we make these changes. What is listed here may change, based on whether our analysis and/or observations indicate that these changes are negatively impacting your experience. We may also loosen the restrictions if we are able to do so safely. FUT RUSH Match Outcomes / Matchmaking Delays We know that the best RUSH matches are built on the experiences you have with your teammates. Matchmaking Delays: To encourage teammates in FUT RUSH to keep fighting until the end of the match, we are introducing matchmaking delays in FUT RUSH for players who consistently leave matches early. Players who consistently quit or disconnect from FUT Rush matches will first experience a 15 minute matchmaking delay. If following that delay, they continue to leave matches early, the delay will escalate up to an hour. Completing FUT Rush matches will remove that matchmaking delay. We will also be closely monitoring feedback on this, as it’s a new space for FC, and we may need to make adjustments as we see how it impacts your experience. Returning Player Rewards We want returning players to feel welcomed back. Eligible players coming from FC 25 receive early rewards to curate a squad and complete SBCs. EA Play Rewards EA Play members receive content across modes during the FC 26 cycle. Football Ultimate Team™: EA Play Welcome Pack with three 85+ OVR Loan 1 of 5 Player Pick Items for 10 matches each. Includes Attacker, Midfielder, and Defender Player Pick Items. Also includes one FUT Draft Token. Clubs: The World’s Game Dark Blue Headband. How to Qualify: Maintain an active EA Play subscription during the FC 26 cycle. You must log into the Ultimate Team mode in EA SPORTS FC™ 26 with an EA Account associated with an EA Play or Game Pass Ultimate Account between September 18, 2025 – October 30, 2025 to receive the EA Play Welcome Pack. Club Member Rewards Founders and Club Members can unlock customisation and progression benefits. Founder Rewards: Founders kits and crests in Football Ultimate Team™. Founders TIFOs to showcase legacy. Club Member Rewards: In Football Ultimate Team™, branded Kits, XL TIFOs, and Crests. In Clubs, Gloves, Boots, Arm Sleeves, and AXP Multipliers. In Career, new Legendary Items and accessories. How to Qualify: Founders are those who played FC 24 before 1 November, 2023. To obtain a FC 26 Club Membership, you’ll need to play FC 25 and FC 26 before 1 November, 2025*. Pre-season Rewards Carryover rewards from EA SPORTS FC™ 25 Football Ultimate Team™ arrive in EA SPORTS FC™ 26 beginning October 14, 2025. Availability: Rewards become claimable starting October 14, 2025 in EA SPORTS FC™ 26 Football Ultimate Team™. How to Claim: Log in to EA SPORTS FC™ 26 Football Ultimate Team™ using the same EA Account and platform family used to earn the rewards in EA SPORTS FC™ 25. For example, PlayStation rewards can be claimed only on PlayStation. Timing: It may take some time for all rewards to appear in your account. Responsiveness Following up on our recent Gameplay Responsiveness Update, we’ve been working on some exciting changes to make FC 26 feel more responsive. With help from your feedback during Closed Beta, we’re launching an improvement to better synchronize the client and server. This aims to reduce the average input round trip latency by approximately 12ms improvement per input and improves frame-to-frame consistency. Essentially, this means your input is more responsive, and you’re more likely to have your online input respond in time for your desired action to be successful. This is a reduction of latency on every input, and when testing this with core players, we’ve noticed a meaningful improvement to competitive play. Gameplay We’ve also seen your feedback about Finesse Shots from outside of the box and are making changes to keep the trajectory realistic and less exploitable for Early Access. Before and After Using your feedback, we noticed Finesse Shots were sometimes easily lobbing the keeper from outside of the box. Starting in Early Access, we’ve reduced the top spin on these shots to ensure they can’t be overused to score a goal. Here’s what this will look like. Here’s a closer look at the curve trajectory before the change. And here’s what Finesse Shot trajectories will look like for Early Access. We’re excited to hear what you think about this and other gameplay updates in FC 26. Please continue providing feedback with the new FC Feedback Hub. Clubs Clubs in FC 26 expands with deeper progression, more competitive variety, and a clear rhythm of play across the year. Chapters and Seasons guide your journey with new Live Events and progression refreshes, ensuring the mode evolves alongside you throughout the Seasons. Archetypes Archetypes define how you grow your Pro and unlock unique PlayStyles and Perks to compete on the pitch. Introducing Archetypes: 13 new Archetypes inspired by iconic footballers. From launch, you can progress from level 1 to level 50, with new level caps added during the year. Progression: Play Clubs to earn Archetype XP. Unlock Attribute Points for core stats, Signature PlayStyles for identity, and Signature Perks for extra edge. Learn More: Discover all 13 Archetypes, Signature PlayStyles, and Signature Perks in the Clubs Deep Dive. Consumables Consumables are designed as a catch-up tool for players who join Clubs later in the year. They provide another way to progress your Archetypes alongside matches and Skill Games, but they don’t replace natural progression. Safeguards like level caps and purchase limits ensure Consumables accelerate growth without upsetting balance. Consumable Types Archetype XP (AXP) Multipliers: Boost AXP earned in matches for a set number of games. Direct Apply AXP: Instantly grant AXP to your active Archetype. (Capped at Level 25 to keep balance - this cap rises as Archetype Level Limits increase.) Archetype Unlocks: Unlock any locked Archetype directly from the Archetypes Screen. Archetype Resets: Lets you reset Attribute Points for redistribution. Consumable Limits & Safeguards Direct Apply AXP is capped below max level to ensure it supports catch-up, not endgame skipping. Store purchases have defined limits that refresh only when new Consumables are added. Rewarded Consumables (from Objectives or the Season Pass) are limited only by how they’re distributed. Consumables can be saved indefinitely. Store expiry applies only to purchase windows, not usage. How to Unlock Consumables: Available in the Club Store with FC Points or Clubs Coins. Earnable through Season Pass rewards. FAQs & Balance Notes AXP Multipliers apply across all Clubs modes: League, Playoffs, Friendlies, 11v11 Drop-In, Rush, and Live Events. Only one Multiplier can be active at a time. Activating a new one replaces the old one. Direct Apply AXP carries over even past the Consumable Level Cap. Unlocks and Resets can also be done with Clubs Coins or FC Points Consumables only provide AXP already available through play. The Consumable Level Cap scales upward as Archetype Level Caps increase during the year. Clubs Competitive Experiences We are adding more ways to compete and climb together. Leagues and Playoffs: Climb Divisions, qualify for Playoffs, and battle for promotion. Clubs Rush: Race to Elite Rank through ten Divisions. You can now play true 5-a-side Rush with Be-a-Goalkeeper enabled. Live Events: Fresh formats all year. Start Season 1 with the Designated Shooter Event and build toward the End of Chapter Cup in Season 3. Clubs Objectives Objectives in Clubs reward you at every stage of your Pro journey. Foundations: Learn the ropes and kickstart your Pro’s career. Archetypes: Track mastery of each Archetype. Seasonal, Weekly, and Daily: A steady flow of fresh rewards. Live Events: Earn rewards that tie your Pro to your biggest moments. Clubs Season 1: Live Events and Tournaments Here’s what to expect at launch. Designated Shooter Event: Each team will have a designated shooter, randomly rotated throughout the match, whose goals count double. Debut Cup: Open to all. Unlimited attempts. Survive three knockout rounds to reach the final. Origin Cup: A multi-stage Tournament. Stage 1 performance sets your Stage 2 tier. Second-chance retries open after cooldowns. Career Mode We are excited to go into more detail around Career Mode including Manager Live Challenges and changes to how you can earn ICONs and Heroes in Player Career and Manager Career on FC 26. Manager Live We’re really excited at the batch of Launch Challenges we have lined up in Manager Live. We've tried to add variety in terms of Challenge restriction, simulation time required to complete, and what teams are compatible with each Challenge. At launch, we have three Starter Challenges designed for a familiar and relaxed route into Challenge life. These are focused purposely on established and popular actions we know players already enjoy within Career Mode, engaging with the transfer market, pre-season, and starting the domestic season strongly. From there, the choice is yours, but here are some personal favourites: Top at Christmas; take control of any team in the top five European leagues and be top of your domestic league at Christmas Road To Glory; achieve a promotion, domestic league title and UEFA Champions League win within three seasons European Royalty; either replicate Paris Saint-Germain’s UEFA Super Cup win, or change the course of history with Tottenham Hotspur, going on to reach a UEFA Champions League Final, being active in the transfer market with both ins and outs, and go on to win another UEFA Super Cup within three seasons Successfully completing Challenges earns Season Points for the Season Pass, and completing some Challenges - such as European Royalty above - also unlocks licensed retro kits for you to use with that club in future Manager Live saves, or on your Create Your Club team. In FC26, we’ll be adding multiple live Challenges directly into the Manager Live Hub weekly during the new season. We’re really happy with how in-depth we can make Manager Live Challenges, and are looking forward to creating Challenges that replicate or reference the real world of football, but also bend reality with exciting ‘what if?’ moments. ICONs in Player Career & Manager Career In FC 26, ICONs remain a feature in Career Mode, available beyond Ultimate Team. Player Career will kick off in Season 1 with a rotating set of ICONs, starting with four options such as Fernando Torres and Marinette Pichon. These ICONs will only be available for a limited time before being replaced by new selections as the season progresses. Ultimate Edition owners or players who pre-ordered the Standard Edition of FC 26 will permanently unlock ICONs both in Player Career and Manager Career, with Zlatan Ibrahimović, Toni Kroos, and Alex Morgan available from day one. Additional ICONs and Heroes can be unlocked in Manager Career through both the Premium and standard of the Season 1 Pass, featuring names like Luis Figo and Kelly Smith. In addition, one Icon can be unlocked for Player Career specifically in the Standard Tier of the Season Pass every Season, with David Beckham available as the reward for Season 1. All ICONs and Heroes unlocked through the Season Pass in Career Mode are permanent additions, including in Player Career Path to FC Pro As mentioned in the FC Pro Deep Dive, FC Pro Live Events is a brand-new mode in EA SPORTS FC 26 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S that makes accessing the Path to Pro easier than ever. The FC Pro tab will appear in the Ultimate Team Play Menu whenever an FC Pro Live Event is active. Once you reach Division 4 in Rivals, you’ll be able to jump in, compete against top players, and earn exclusive cosmetics to showcase your accomplishments, along with progression toward FC Pro competition. There’s no need for external registration for initial qualification, everything is handled directly in-game, including matchmaking, just like Rivals or Champions. Players compete on regional leaderboards ranked by Elo rating, which shifts based on your results and the strength of your opponents. The top performers in each region, based on peak Elo during the ladder period, will advance to the next stage. Please note: only PlayStation 5 competitors are eligible to qualify for FC Pro Open Regional Qualifiers, while both PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S players can earn in-game rewards.EA SPORTS FC™ 26 | Closed Beta Feedback Update
Hey everyone, a big thanks to all of you who took part in the EA SPORTS FC 26 Closed Beta. Your feedback has been essential in helping us identify and prioritize areas of improvement. In this article we’re sharing what we’re currently working on based on your feedback, and when you can expect to see it implemented in game. As part of our FC Feedback initiative, we’ll be looking to provide monthly updates like this once FC 26 launches. ICYMI, the FC 26 Closed Beta ran from August 6 - 26, with Football Ultimate Team, Kick Off, Clubs and Career all available for testing. Below is the feedback that popped up the most during this period, coming from the Closed Beta version of the Player Feedback Portal, as well as the Closed Beta forums: Low Driven Shot Effectiveness AI Defender Speed Attacking AI Positioning Clubs Archetypes Contract Renewal Negotiations Heavy Dribble Touches AI Call For Pass Delay Be A Goalkeeper Save Delay FUT Tournament Match To Match Time Limits AI Shot Selection Low Driven Shot Effectiveness Summary We’ve seen your feedback about low driven shots feeling too effective, with goalkeepers not reacting to them appropriately at times. What’s Next We’re currently working on improving goalkeepers reactions to low driven shots, and we’re looking to implement this update before Early Access kicks off on September 19. Before And After We want to share a general idea of what you can expect. Here’s how a low driven shot could have looked during Closed Beta and how that shot can look like in the future. Note that the goalkeeper is much more reactive to it. As a reminder, this is a work-in-progress and the visuals here and in the rest of this article are not necessarily 100% representative of what the final update will look like. AI Defender Speed Summary Your Closed Beta feedback told us that there were some cases where AI defenders felt unnaturally fast, catching attackers too easily in some cases. What we’ve found is that the cause of this isn’t actually the speed of AI defenders. Instead, some ball trapping animations were slowing down the ball carrier more than intended. This means that an attacker can take too long to receive a ball and get moving, making it feel like the defenders are way too quick for them. What’s Next We’re planning to address these animations before Early Access and below is an example of what that can look like. Before And After Here’s an example of the issue you told us about and how that scenario can play out after the ball trapping animations have been addressed. Note that the defender’s speed hasn’t been changed at all, but the attacker has been enabled to move more quickly, giving them a chance against the rushing defender. Attacking AI Positioning Summary We’ve seen your examples of AI attackers sometimes not making the runs you’d expect, or going offside frequently. What’s Next We’re making improvements for Early Access so players can recognize open space faster and move into it regardless of their role or familiarity. They’ll also time runs more effectively to stay onside for incoming passes. Clubs Archetypes Summary While we’ve seen plenty of excitement for Archetypes in FC 26, we’ve also seen that some of you feel the progression wasn’t as satisfying as it could be during the Closed Beta. What’s Next To give you more customization freedom, here’s what currently working on: Increasing the amount of Attribute Points (AP) awarded at level 1. Increasing the amount of Attribute Points (AP) awarded per level. We’re targeting Early Access for these changes and we’ll keep monitoring your feedback around them. Manager Career Contract Renewal Negotiations Summary There’s been some confusion in Manager Career regarding when players are ready to start contract renewal talks. Some of this confusion came from unintended in-game messaging that made it sound like the player is happy with their current contract, and we’ve also seen feedback on contract renewal willingness functionality. What’s Next We’re looking to address the text ahead of Early Access, and we’re updating how player willingness to renew works as well. You’ll now be able to get messages on a weekly basis from the start of your save regarding players in the last 12 or 18 months of their contract, informing you if they’re looking to renew and listing their conditions. In short, you’ll know when players are ready to talk on a week by week basis. Heavy Dribble Touches Summary We’ve seen feedback saying that dribble touches sometimes send the ball too far in front of the attacking, making it too easy for them to get dispossessed. What’s Next We’re going to be closely monitoring this topic once FC 26 is out, but for now, we’ve identified cases of this occurring in wet weather Authentic preset gameplay. So we’ll be looking to address these wet weather touches in a Live Tuning Update closer to worldwide launch on September 26, and we’ll keep an eye on your feedback for other types of touches as they come in. AI Call For Pass Delay Summary You’ve given us feedback that sometimes AI players simply take too long to pass the ball when you ask them to do so in Clubs. Sometimes AI players could take unnecessary touches or sometimes they might even stop to think for far too long. What’s Next We’ve identified instances where this is happening, and we’re planning on addressing these instances ahead of Early Access. Be A Goalkeeper Save Delay Summary In the Closed Beta, you told us that saves, dives, and other aspects of the Be A Goalkeeper experience could feel inconsistent and unresponsive at times. What’s Next We’ve investigated thoroughly with our Design Council and are preparing a slew of updates that we’re looking to release ahead of Early Access. These target the following areas but are not limited to: Cross claiming ability Save assistance Increasing animation coverage FUT Tournament Match To Match Time Limits Summary Our intent with the match to match time limits in FUT Tournaments was to design them in a way that encouraged completing specific Tournaments that could benefit from condensed matchmaking. But we’ve seen your feedback about this causing frustration, so we’re not going to have these match to match time limits come launch. If in the future there’s an opportunity to hold tournaments that could benefit from these limits, we’ll let you know in advance. AI Shot Selection Summary In offline modes, we’ve seen your feedback that AI players could sometimes hesitate to shoot in situations where you’d expect a shot to be beneficial. What’s Next We’ve identified cases of this happening and are planning to address this issue ahead of Early Access. With this issue addressed, you can expect AI players to be less timid about taking shots when it makes sense to do so. Share your Feedback Thank you again to everyone who participated in the FC 26 Closed Beta and shared feedback. These insights help us make meaningful improvements before launch and beyond. Please continue sharing your feedback in the FC Feedback Hub and join the conversation in the EA SPORTS FC Discord.
New EA SPORTS FC™ 26 Stadiums List
EA SPORTS FC™ 26 features over 130 authentic football stadiums from across The World’s Game, including new additions that you’ve been asking for such as FC Bayern’s Allianz Arena, SSC Napoli’s Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Everton’s brand-new Hill Dickinson Stadium, Besiktas’ Tüpraş Stadyumu, and Inter Miami’s Chase Stadium. It’s back! EA SPORTS FC™ 26 brings about the return of FC Bayern’s striking Allianz Arena, rebuilt from scratch for FC 26. Home to the reigning Serie A champions and dedicated to one of the greatest players in the history of the game, play at SSC Napoli’s Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. Making its debut in the 2025/26 Premier League season, Everton’s brand-new Hill Dickinson Stadium ushers in a new era to the Bramley-Moore Dock. Adding to the stunning stadiums of Istanbul, Besiktas’ Tüpraş Stadyumu completes the Trendyol Süper Lig big three in EA SPORTS FC™ 26. La Maison Jaune brings FC Nantes’ bold yellow and green colours to EA SPORTS FC™ 26 at the Stade de la Beaujoire. Experience the incredible Austrian atmosphere in RB Salzburg’s Red Bull Arena. Dazzling in the Swiss sun, put yourself in the Stadion Wankdorf’s iconic hot seat, home of BSC Young Boys. Host of the UEFA Women's EURO 2025 final, FC Basel’s St. Jakob-Park saw England’s Lionesses beat Spain in a dramatic penalty shootout. Join Die Lilien as Darmstadt’s Stadion am Böllenfalltor debuts in EA SPORTS FC™ 26 following recent renovation works. Play at Holstein-Stadion, one of the finest football stadiums in the German second tier, home to Holstein. Home to the Herons, Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida has witnessed many Inter Miami masterclasses. Additionally, other stadiums have undergone rebuilds for EA SPORTS FC™ 26, including RCD Mallorca’s Estadi Mallorca Son Moix, Portsmouth’s Fratton Park, and Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge. Beyond authentic stadiums, we have also fully rebuilt the following original stadiums - Union Park Stadium, Stade Municipal, Stadio Classico and Molton Road. Stay tuned to EA SPORTS FC on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube for all the latest news and updates. EA SPORTS FC™ 26 launches 26 September, 2025. Pre-order the Ultimate Edition to receive up to 7 days of early access. The Ultimate Edition also includes FC Points, an additional EVO slot, and more.* Here are all of the stadiums in EA SPORTS FC™ 26 on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC. PREMIER LEAGUE American Express Stadium Anfield Craven Cottage Elland Road Emirates Stadium Etihad Stadium Gtech Community Stadium Hill Dickinson Stadium London Stadium Molineux Stadium Old Trafford Selhurst Park St. James' Park Stadium of Light Stamford Bridge The City Ground Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Turf Moor Villa Park Vitality Stadium ENGLISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE Accu Stadium Ashton Gate Bramall Lane Cardiff City Stadium Carrow Road Coventry Building Society Arena Ewood Park Fratton Park Kenilworth Road King Power Stadium MATRADE Loftus Road Stadium MKM Stadium Portman Road Riverside Stadium St. Mary's Stadium Stoke City FC Stadium Swansea.com Stadium The Hawthorns Vicarage Road BUNDESLIGA Allianz Arena BayArena BORUSSIA-PARK Deutsche Bank Park Europa-Park Stadion MEWA ARENA MHPArena Millerntor-Stadion PreZero Arena Red Bull Arena (Leipzig) RheinEnergieStadion Signal Iduna Park Stadion An der Alten Försterei Volksparkstadion Volkswagen Arena Weserstadion WWK Arena BUNDESLIGA 2 Düsseldorf-Arena Heinz von Heiden-Arena Holstein-Stadion Home Deluxe Arena Max-Morlock-Stadion Olympiastadion SchücoArena Sportpark Ronhof Thomas Sommer Stadion am Böllenfalltor VELTINS-Arena Vonovia Ruhrstadion LALIGA EA SPORTS Coliseum Estadi Mallorca Son Moix Estadio ABANCA-Balaídos Estadio Benito Villamarín Estadio Ciutat de València Estadio de la Cerámica Estadio de Mendizorroza Estadio de Montilivi Estadio de Vallecas Estadio El Sadar Estadio Martínez Valero Estadio Mestalla Estadio San Mamés Estadio Santiago Bernabéu Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán RCDE Stadium Reale Arena RIYADH AIR METROPOLITANO LALIGA HYPERMOTION El Alcoraz Estadio de Gran Canaria Estadio José Zorrilla Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes Estadio Ontime Butarque Municipal de Ipurua Nuevo Mirandilla UD Almería Stadium BARCLAYS WOMEN’S SUPER LEAGUE Goodison Park Joie Stadium GOOGLE PIXEL FRAUEN-BUNDESLIGA StrongHER Stadium LIGA F MOEVE Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano LIGUE 1 MCDONALD’S Decathlon Arena Groupama Stadium Orange Vélodrome Parc des Princes Stade Bollaert-Delelis Stade de la Beaujoire SERIE A ENILIVE Allianz Stadium Bluenergy Stadium Stadio Diego Armando Maradona LIGA PORTUGAL Estádio do Dragão Estádio do SL Benfica Estádio José Alvalade TRENDYOL SÜPER LİG Chobani Stadyumu RAMS Park Tüpraş Stadyumu REST OF WORLD Donbass Arena EREDIVISIE De Kuip Johan Cruijff ArenA Philips Stadion BRACK SUPER LEAGUE St. Jakob-Park Stadion Wankdorf Ö. BUNDESLIGA Red Bull Arena (Salzburg) SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP Celtic Park Ibrox Stadium MLS BC Place BMO Stadium Chase Stadium Dignity Health Sports Park Lumen Field Mercedes-Benz Stadium Providence Park Sports Illustrated Stadium ROSHN SAUDI LEAGUE King Abdullah Sports City King Fahd Stadium INTERNATIONAL Wembley Stadium LIGA PROFESIONAL DE FÚTBOL Estadio Libertadores de América-Ricardo Enrique Bochini Estadio Presidente Perón Estadio Alberto J. Armando (La Bombonera) Estadio Mâs Monumental GENERIC Al Jayeed Stadium Aloha Park Arena del Centenario Arena D'Oro Clubs Stadium Tier 1 (only in Clubs) Clubs Stadium Tier 2 (only in Clubs) Clubs Stadium Tier 3 (only in Clubs) Court Lane Crown Lane Eastpoint Arena El Grandioso El Libertador Estadio de las Artes Estadio El Medio Euro Park Event Rush Stadium (only in UT Rush) FC Rush Stadium (only in Rush) Forest Park Stadium Ivy Lane Longville Stadium Molton Road O Dromo Oktigann Park Sanderson Park Stade Municipal Stadio Classico Stadion 23. Maj Stadion Europa Stadion Hanguk Stadion Neder Stadion Olympik Town Park Union Park Stadium UT Event Stadium (only in UT) UT Stadium (only in UT) Waldstadion *Conditions & restrictions apply. See target=_blankea.com/games/ea-sports-fc/fc-26/game-disclaimers for details.EA SPORTS FC 26 | Pitch Notes - Career Mode Deep Dive
Welcome to the EA SPORTS FC™ 26 Career Deep Dive. We’re excited to share everything that’s coming to Manager and Player Career, including Manager Live Challenges based on your feedback, Archetypes inspired by greats of the game, and the new Authentic Gameplay preset, keeping each season fresh and rewarding. Let’s dive in. Table of Contents Manager Live: Redefining Manager Career Manager Career with ICONs and Heroes Manager Market Deeper Simulation and Data-Driven Scouting Authentic Gameplay: The True Football Experience Unexpected Events Additional Features / Quality of Life Improvements Player Career Player Archetypes New Origin Stories Manager Live: Redefining Manager Career One of the biggest pieces of feedback we’ve seen from you is that you want more variety in your Career Mode saves. You’ve told us you want to take on different and unique challenges, and that you’re constantly on the lookout for the next great scenario to play. In FC 26 we’re introducing the Manager Live Career experience, a dynamic Hub filled with ever-changing Challenges, offering fresh experiences that evolve on a weekly and monthly basis throughout the new season. We’ve been amazed by your creativity in crafting scenarios outside of the game in years past, and you’ve inspired us to bring these storylines and narratives into the game itself. Alongside Full Career and Live Start Points*, Manager Live is home to a variety of challenges, released throughout the new season. Some Challenges align with real-world football, like frenzy of transfer windows or the UEFA Champions League knockouts. Reactive Challenges are timed to capture specific events, creating “What If?” moments like unexpected upsets or epic title battles. Our goal is to let you live the intensity of legendary rivalries, celebrate monumental achievements, and navigate the drama of shock sackings, all while engaging with the season's biggest football storylines. You can now enjoy Career in bite-sized chunks. In a few hours of play you can win something and be rewarded. We’ll be using various parameters to introduce brand-new, exciting ways to play that vary throughout the season, alongside multiple objective types to consistently deliver a fresh challenge. Can you win the league with only youth players? Can you survive relegation with a -20 point deduction? Can you take a team in the bottom league to champions league glory only playing domestic players? So many opportunities to prove your managerial greatness. You’ll be able to connect with friends to share Challenges and tackle the most popular ones directly from the Hub. You can earn exclusive kit rewards by completing Challenges to use in Manager Career, and this Challenge completion will enable you to progress through the Season Pass to earn game wide rewards, including coveted ICONs and Heroes. Open up Manager Career and select Live to explore all the latest content and put your managerial skills to the test. *Updates based on 2025/2026 football season The Manager Live Hub: Your Gateway to Football Management At the heart of Manager Live is the Hub, a centralised space where you access all Manager Career scenarios, including Full Careers, Live Starting Points, and Challenges. Our aim with the Hub is to create a seamless, intuitive, and personalised experience, ensuring you can dive straight into the action. Simply open Manager Live from the main menu and get stuck in! Onboarding: Building Your Manager Profile Just as real-world managers bring their own identity and history to every new club, you’ll bring your manager’s identity for every Challenge. You’ll be able to step into a sharp suit, tracksuit, or build a style of your own—and you can even take the pitch as a real manager. In addition to your manager’s looks, you can choose: Your Name: Enter your manager’s name to carve out your own legacy, or select a real manager. Selected Teams: Choose up to five teams. Whether they're clubs you support, European Superpowers, sleeping giants, or a mix of everything—the choice is yours. This helps you receive personalized recommendations that let you rewrite history or take on the challenges faced by your chosen clubs. Once your profile is complete, it’s saved online and is used for all subsequent saves, and you can change it from your Hub profile. How the Hub Works The Hub organises all Manager Career content into easy-to-navigate tabs, ensuring you can quickly find the scenarios that interest you most. Here’s how it’s structured: Permanent Tabs These sections are always available in the Hub: For You: Personalised content based on your selected teams, including: Challenges featuring your selecting teams Full Careers with your selected teams Live Starting Points for your selected teams Continue: Quickly load your existing Manager Live saves, with your most recent save highlighted for easy access Featured: A curated selection of highlighted scenarios, such as marquee Challenges or special events Social: Friend-based Challenges, including: Challenges shared with you by friends Challenges your friends have completed, allowing you to try them yourself Popular: The most-played Challenges globally, giving you a chance to see what others are playing Favourites: A player-driven section where you can save up to 15 scenarios for quick access Completed: A record of the last 15 Challenges you’ve successfully completed These tabs remain and the content within them changes throughout the season. Dynamic Tabs The Hub can also feature dynamic tabs based on current events, leagues, or themes. Examples include: Premier League: Scenarios involving Premier League teams, such as Full Careers, Live Starting Points, or Challenges UEFA Champions League: European club scenarios tied to the UEFA Champions League Seasonal Events: Themed Challenges, such as transfer window-inspired scenarios Specific Types: Specific types of Challenges, for example Road to Glory-style Challenges with varying difficulties Keep checking back in to see the Dynamic Tabs rotated through the season. Challenge Parameters: Customising the Experience Challenge Parameters are the foundation of every scenario we create, allowing us to tailor each Challenge to reflect the real-world dynamics of football. These parameters define the rules, objectives, and context of the Challenge, with the goal of making every experience feel unique and engaging. Below is a detailed breakdown of the parameters, along with examples of how they can be used to mirror real-world football scenarios: Start Date The start date determines when the Challenge begins within the football calendar, allowing us to drop you straight into the action at pivotal moments of the season. This can either be: The default start date (e.g., the beginning of the season) Specific gameweeks (e.g., midseason or just before a crucial match) Examples: Midseason Relegation Battle: Start in February with your team in the relegation zone, and fight to avoid the drop Title Decider: Begin in April with your team just two points behind the league leaders, with only five games left to play As the season develops, new game weeks increase the Challenge possibilities. Team Selection This defines which team, or teams, you can manage in the Challenge. This can be: A specific team Any team from a specific league or country A pool of up to 20 teams (e.g., top teams from across Europe) Examples: Promotion Push: Choose from a selection of Championship teams and secure promotion to the Premier League Underdog Story: Manage a lower-league team such as Notts County and guide them to the top flight Create Your Club (CYC) This toggle allows us to create Challenges that are both specific to Create Your Club, authentic clubs only, or both. Example Usage: Custom Legacy: Build a brand-new club and take them from the bottom of the football pyramid to the top. League and Country Selection These parameters define the leagues and countries involved in the Challenge: Specific leagues (e.g., La Liga, Serie A) Specific countries (e.g., England, Spain) Multiple leagues or countries Examples: European Domination: Manage a team in one of Europe’s top five leagues and win the Champions League National Focus: Take charge of a team in a specific country and dominate the domestic competitions Cup Competitions This parameter determines which cup competitions are active in the Challenge, allowing for: All cup competitions Specific competitions (e.g., FA Cup, Copa del Rey, DFB-Pokal) disabled Example Usage: Cup Glory: Focus solely on winning Ligue 1 while managing a mid-table team without any cup distractions Feature Settings These toggles allow us to enable or disable specific gameplay features, adding variety and complexity to a Challenge. We can adjust the following: Training Plans: Enable or disable training plans Scouting and Transfers: Enable or disable transfer activity Youth Academy: Enable or disable youth development Manager Market: Lock you to your starting club unless sacked Gameplay Toggles: Disable specific play methods (e.g. Quick Sim, Playable Highlights) Examples: Youth Revolution: Focus entirely on developing young players by disabling transfers and relying on your Youth Academy One-Club Challenge: Lock yourself to a single club and build a dynasty over multiple seasons Parameters Parameters allow us to configure the experience by fine-tuning settings to deliver unique experiences, including: Financial Takeover: Turning takeover on and off to give you that cash injection Board Expectations: Setting how harsh the board’s expectations Transfer Negotiations: Setting how tough negotiations will be Transfer Embargo: Setting an amount of transfer windows that you cannot make any transfers in Minimum Difficulty: Setting the minimum difficulty that the Challenge can be played at Referee Strictness: Setting strictness of the referees and their decisions Points Deduction: Setting a starting points deduction in the league to ratchet up the difficulty No Match Restarts: Match restarts are disabled meaning you can only go once Examples: Against All Odds: Go from rags to riches with an unfancied team facing a transfer embargo Phoenix Club: Revive a sleeping giant with strict board expectations and transfer negotiations Team Management Limiters In some Challenges, you’ll need to carefully manage your squad selection because: Players over or under a specific age are ineligible for selection Your squad is limited to players of a specific nationality Blocked players appear unavailable in your Team Management screen, similar to how suspended or injured players are displayed, but with a distinct icon. If you attempt to start a match with an invalid lineup, you’ll be notified to adjust your team before proceeding. Transfer Limiters The transfer market is a key part of any manager’s strategy, but what if you could only sign players from specific leagues or nations? With Challenges, we can create scenarios that modify your transfer activity, such as: Only signing players over or under a certain age Only selling players over or under a certain age Limiting transfers to specific teams, leagues, or regions Restricting transfers to free agents or loans only These rules apply to both incoming and outgoing transfers. For example, you might only be able to sell players over a certain age, or you could be blocked from offering players in exchange deals if they don’t meet the criteria. Every transfer becomes a strategic decision, adding a layer of complexity to squad building. Tactical Limiters Some Challenges will lock you into a specific Tactical Vision, either: Balanced High Pressing Possession Wing Play Counter Attack Park the Bus Kick and Rush Once locked, these tactical presets cannot be changed during or outside of gameplay, challenging you to adapt your strategy to the defined approach. Job Limiters How long can you make an impact at a single club? In certain Challenges, you’ll be limited to a set number of seasons before being required to move on. For example, you might need to achieve your objectives within two seasons before being automatically dismissed, encouraging you to make the most of your time and explore new opportunities. Objectives Objectives define the goals you must achieve to complete a Challenge. There are a number of Objectives that can be mixed together to create a multitude of scenarios, including : Must finish in a certain position or above of a league Must reach a number of points in a league Must win a number of games in a league Must not lose more than a number of games in a league Must qualify or reach a certain competition Must get to a set stage of a cup Must achieve promotion Must not get relegated Must win a set trophy Must have the average age of the starting lineup be a set number of years Must score a set amount of goals or more a game over the season Must score a set amount of goals or more in a set competition Must spend a set amount of money on transfers Must earn a set amount of money and above from transfers Must earn a set amount of profit and above from transfers Must beat a set opponent with a set player in the lineup Must sign a set player at every club managed Must have a set possession percentage in every won game Must have a set player finish the season on a set average rating and above Must have a set player score a set amount of goals Must have a set player assist a set amount of assists Must have a set player in your starting 11 for a set number games Each Objective can be set to have an open-ended completion date or require you to complete it at a set date in the game. They can be used for any competition, team, or player in the game, creating a large amount of possibilities to play from. Examples: Top Four Race: Finish in the top four of the Bundesliga to secure Champions League qualification and score a high number of goals Star Performer: Have your star player play 30 matches and achieve an average rating of 8.0 or higher Challenge Types In FC 26 Career Mode, there will be lots of challenges across the year and here are a few examples of the types of challenges you will see: Midseason Scenarios Midseason scenarios use Live Start Points to deliver Challenges at any gameweek of the season. These scenarios are intended to deliver Challenges during especially interesting points of the campaign. Examples: Derby Drama: Manage a team in a high-stakes derby match, such as El Classico, Der Klassiker, the North London Derby Shock of the Week: Relive a giant-killing FA Cup result and replicate the upset Dynamic Scenarios Dynamic scenarios adapt to real-world football events or trends, and they consist of: Proactive Scenarios: Released before upcoming events (e.g., title deciders, derbies) so you can pick a side and play out the future Reactive Scenarios: Released after recent events (e.g., shock wins, dramatic comebacks) so you can change history Examples: European Royalty: Take control of one of the teams in the upcoming UEFA Champions League Play-offs and guide them to glory Late Scramble: Recreate an iconic against-all-odds victory and use it as motivation for the rest of the season Historical Achievements Recreate iconic moments from football history through scenarios such as: Replicating famous seasons Achieving record milestones Reliving the career of football’s biggest icons, past and present Examples: Invincibles Challenge: Go unbeaten in the league with Juventus or Bayer Leverkusen Treble Triumph: Win the league, domestic cup, and Champions League in a single season with PSG or Manchester City Time-Limited Challenges Some Challenges are only available for a limited time, allowing us to continually release new challenges and keep the Hub evolving. Expiry time is visible from inside the Hub. Examples: Seasonal Challenge: Complete a festive-themed Challenge during the Holiday season to earn exclusive holiday kits Event-Based Challenge: Take on a Challenge inspired by a real-world derby match before it expires Celebrating Success and Progress Just like a manager’s achievements are recognised in real football, Manager Live ensures your accomplishments and even your setbacks are acknowledged in a meaningful way. The user interface is designed with the intent of making every completed scenario feel significant, whether you’ve lifted the trophy or learned from a tough campaign. Objective Notification Each time you complete or fail an Objective, a task list item will notify you. You can follow this item to the Challenge Details screen to check your overall progress. Challenge Details: Stay Informed, Stay Focused A dedicated Challenge Details screen is always available from the Objectives section in Office, this acts as your tactical dossier and includes: Title and Description Challenge Image Objectives and Completion Timeframe Limiters and Feature Settings All configured Parameters Rewards (if available) Keep checking back to see your progress and plan your next moves. Completion Flow When you finish a Challenge, completing all Objectives or falling short, the next time you enter the Central screen, you’ll be taken through a tailored completion flow: Challenge Completed: If you’ve achieved all core objectives, you’ll be greeted with a celebratory completion screen, and awarded if any rewards are configured. Even if some Objectives are missed, your journey is still recognised, reflecting the reality that not every season ends with silverware, but every campaign tells a story. Completion Summary: Afterward you are taken to the completion summary screen, where your performance is highlighted against the backdrop of the Challenge. From here you can choose your next move. The completion screen is your post-match conclusion, it’s a moment to reflect, plan, and share your story. You have several options: Quit: Return to the Manager Live Hub, ready to take on your next managerial adventure. Continue: Keep playing in your current game world, with two distinct paths: Continue with Challenge Settings: Maintain all Challenge rules and settings, preserving the unique scenario you’ve just completed. Continue without Challenge Settings: Reset to a standard full career, removing all Challenge-specific restrictions and Objectives. Share: Send the Challenge to a friend, encouraging them to experience the same scenario. Replay: Dive back into the Challenge from the beginning, with the scenario pre-selected for convenience. Note that rewards can only be earned once, and replay is disabled if the Challenge has expired. Rewards Challenges can offer unique rewards for successful completion. Rewards can be exclusive licensed retro kits to use in future Manager Career saves, progression in your Season Pass journey, or a combination of the two. Certain Challenges will give you rewards directly from completing them such as a unique club retro kit from completing a Challenge with that club. More kits and rewards will become available over the season. Completing challenges can also complete Objectives within the Season Pass, rewarding you with Season Pass points. Along the path will be many Manager Career rewards including the coveted ICONs and Heroes which can be used in Challenges and the Manager Career with ICONs and Heroes mode. Complete Challenges in order to progress along the Season Pass ladder, and build your collection of ICONs and Legends. A New Era for Manager Career With the Manager Live Hub and its curated Challenges, we’re transforming Manager Career into a live, evolving experience that reflects the dynamic world of football. Whether you’re building a team of young stars, mastering a specific tactical identity, or navigating a strict transfer policy, Manager Live is intended to push you to think creatively and adapt to new scenarios. It’s time to prove your managerial skills and embrace the thrill of overcoming obstacles. Are you ready to take on the challenge? Manager Original The existing Manager Original experience remains available alongside Live, enhanced to include this year's new features. Original Full Career and Live Start Points are available to play here and are accessed from the main menu underneath Manager Live. Manager Career with ICONs and Heroes Manager Career with ICONs and Heroes: Bringing Legends to Your Club We’re excited to share new ways to experience the Manager Career in EA SPORTS FC 26, with the introduction of ICONs and Heroes. This feature gives you more control over your squad, letting you manage some of football’s most legendary players. Whether you want to recreate classic teams or build your own dream lineup, our goal is to give more depth and flexibility for all types of players. Unlock ICONs and Heroes by progressing through the Season Pass. A major addition to the FC 26 Manager Career Mode is the ability to unlock ICONs and Heroes by progressing along the Season Pass. Complete specific Objectives across all game modes to progress through the season for opportunities to unlock ICONs and Heroes to have available in your next fresh career or Challenge. So you will be able to play with new unlocked ICONs & Heroes only after starting a new Career. Each season introduces a new exclusive roster of ICONs and Heroes to discover, unlock, and add to your dream squad at the start of your next journey. Recreating Classic Teams or Building Your Fantasy Squad With ICONs and Heroes now available in Manager Career, you can choose to relive football history by creating your own version of classic teams. The more ICONs and Heroes you unlock, the more options you’ll have to recreate a classic line up. Alternatively, you can also add ICONs and Heroes to your favourite team alongside today’s stars, building a fantasy squad that reflects your personal vision of football greatness. This flexibility enables you to experiment with different tactics, formations, and player combinations, making each career unique.EA SPORTS FC™ 26 | FUT Deep Dive
Watch our Deep Dive video here: A new chapter for Football Ultimate Team. In FC 26, FUT is changing based on how you play and what you’ve asked for. New ways to compete with Live Events. Tournaments are back with knockout play. A new mode called Gauntlets brings all new challenges. Rivals and Champions are also getting big improvements. For the first time, FUT will have tailor-made gameplay tuning in Competitive Gameplay, which adds more control, consistency, and responsiveness. We’ve also made changes to Evolutions, match outcomes, and more, all based on your feedback. Let’s jump in. What's New? Competitive Gameplay: Gameplay centering on responsiveness, more consistency, and higher control. Live Events: A new way to compete, with varied match settings, entry requirements, and new formats including Tournaments and Gauntlets. Rivals & Champs Revamp: No more Playoffs. Direct qualification, new Bounties, and Limited Checkpoints. FUT Match Outcome Improvements: Additional updates in FC 26 to award a win when an opponent quits or disconnects during a draw. Evolutions Updates: Evolve Goalkeepers, combine cosmetic upgrades without losing existing styles and maintain the look of your players when upgrading them. Let’s dig into the full details. Table of Contents Live Events Entry Requirements Custom Rules & Match Settings Objective Linking Matchmaking New Play Menu Tournaments Gauntlet FC Pro Live Events Rivals Revamp Bounties Limited Checkpoints Champions & Challengers Challengers Competitive Gameplay Updated Match Outcomes in Football Ultimate Team RUSH Match Outcomes/Matchmaking Delays GK, Repeatable Evolutions, & Cosmetic Upgrades Repeatable Evolutions Cosmetic Stacking & Rarity Layers Graduated Transfer Market Access Objectives Live Events Building on Friendlies, Live Events are a new pillar of FUT’s competitive structure. They're designed to bring more variety in what you play, and the squads you use throughout each season. This is where you’ll experience themed competitions which challenge your ability to build and play with different squads. You’ll access them through the new Event Hub, built with a streamlined interface that makes it easy to check event availability, requirements, rewards, and your progress at a glance. Entry Requirements To enter some Live Events, your squad may need to meet custom criteria. Requirements are intended to create a competitive layer of progression and can enable you to qualify for special locked Live Event which may include: Completing a specific Objective or Objective Group Reaching a Rivals Division Rarity, Club, League, or Nation count Player Quality Chemistry or Position rules Custom Rules & Match Settings Live Events can also include: House Rules (Classic Match, Max Chemistry, First to X Goals, Mystery Ball, No Rules, Long Range, Swaps, and Survival) Match Limits Solo only, Co-op only, or open matchmaking This means you’ll encounter events where every match feels different. Objective Linking Rewards and your progression towards them are well known to Friendlies fans, but often require you to jump across multiple menus to track your progress. Events are streamlining this for you, giving you direct access to claim what you’ve earned without digging through the Objective menus. In FC 26 you’ll be able to spend more time on the pitch and less time navigating menus. Each event will highlight its own set of Objectives that you are able to complete in that event. Matchmaking Matchmaking can be configured for each individual Live Event to use either: Per Event winform: Your match record in that specific Live Event only Global winform: Your match record across other Global winform events New Play Menu The FUT Play Menu has been reworked from the ground up in FC 26 to make it easier to navigate, discover, and jump into your preferred modes. Allowing you to not only see new and upcoming Live Events at a glance, but also their rewards. The redesigned menu uses the following categories: For You The For You tab is your personalized hub within the new Play Menu, surfacing the most relevant content based on your activity. It contains three distinct categories: New: Freshly launched competitions, updated in real-time Continue Playing: Shows your last played modes Upcoming: Shows future events in chronological order, allowing you to preview entry and squad requirements to prepare your squads in advance Online Rush Rivals Champions Challengers Online Draft Play vs. CPU Squad Battles Moments Single Player Draft Play vs. Friend Couch Play (Classic Match) Play a Friend (Classic Match) We’ve streamlined Friendlies by removing Online Play and all House Rules match types focusing this space solely on Classic Matches. Other Tabs FC Pro PlayStation Tournaments Up to 6 Live Events tabs, populated dynamically throughout the season Tournaments Are Back Tournaments bring back a classic knockout format with new structures and a flexible schedule, designed to appear at key moments rather than run every week or stay evergreen like Rivals or Champs. Full details on timing and rewards will be shared in the Launch Update Pitch Notes. Tournaments may include: Specific entry requirements (Objective progress, Division rank, etc.) Entry limits with refreshes Each Tournament brings its own rewards, with different squad rules and setups across the season to keep things fresh. Gauntlet Gauntlets are a new way to test your club depth and your ability across multiple matches. Each Gauntlet consists of up to five matches. However, instead of using the same squad each match, you’ll need to use a completely different squad for every match, including the entire subs bench. At launch we’ll kick things off with the Ultimate Gauntlet, featuring three rounds (requiring three unique squads) and running every two weeks to start. This is just the beginning, with more details to come in our launch update. Unlike Tournaments, there’s no elimination here. You can keep playing through the full Gauntlet regardless of results, but the more you win, the better the rewards. It’s a format where squad building choices matter just as much as what happens on the pitch. FC Pro Live Events FC 26 integrates directly with FC Pro for the first time and provides top-tier Division Rivals players the opportunity to compete against the very best. On PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, you can: Register for FC Pro competitions directly from within Football Ultimate Team Compete, win and climb regional leaderboards based on your peak ELO Qualify for onward FC Pro competitions such as the FC Pro Open (PS5 only) Rivals Revamp Our focus in FC 26 is bringing more fan requested changes to Football Ultimate Team. As we listened to your feedback on Rivals three key themes emerged: In Football Ultimate Team, it feels like there are too many matches to play, especially if you’re aiming for top ranked rewards. Once you’ve climbed the Divisions and are consistently matched up against similarly skilled players, the motivation to keep playing can taper off. Hitting a good run of form can leave you stranded in a higher division that you might not belong to, creating huge losing streaks as you wait for the season to refresh. We’ll have more details to share on Rivals matches and rewards closer to launch in the Launch Update Pitch Notes, but know we hear you and we’re working on it. Today we’re going to run through new systems designed to make Rivals feel exciting and rewarding, even if you don’t walk away with the win. Bounties Bounties are randomly triggered challenges that apply to your next Rivals match. Complete one and you’ll earn rewards immediately ranging from Rivals Points, Champions Qualification Points, Coins, Packs, Season XP to even Rivals Stage Skips, allowing you to progress up the ladder faster. These are some examples of Bounties that you might encounter while playing: Score the first goal Score the last goal Win by two or more Keep a clean sheet Many Bounties can be completed even if you don’t go on to win the match, ensuring that you still have something to play for in each match. Duels Duels are special Bounties that attempt to match you with opponents on the same challenge, like Score First, ensuring that only one player can walk away with the reward. Limited Checkpoints Limited Checkpoints are a new form of breakable checkpoint that tracks losses and enables relegation once broken. You’ll see how many losses remain when selecting the Limited Checkpoint, and the number of losses before it breaks can be different between each Checkpoint. These Checkpoints are intended to help prevent players from getting stuck outside of their skill equilibrium for long periods of time, and will reset at the beginning of each Rivals season. Champions & Challengers At times, qualifying for Champions through Playoffs was a tougher competition than Champions itself while for our most skilled players, it was an extra skill check each week. In response to feedback around the number of required matches, Playoffs have been removed in FC 26 and are no longer part of Champions. Instead, you’ll qualify directly for Champions by reaching a specific Rivals Division and collecting Champions Qualification Points. We’ll have more details on the exact Rivals Division to qualify for Champions in the FUT Launch Update Pitch Notes closer to launch. Challengers For players outside the top divisions, we’ve added Challengers, a new tier of Champions with its own format and rewards. This gives more players a chance to experience the Champions feeling while keeping Champions as the highest level of competition. Competitive Gameplay Competitive Gameplay is a new tuning set made specifically for FUT, built around three core ideas: responsiveness, more consistency, and higher player control. This change is a direct result of your feedback, from the comments, posts, and threads, to the hours of conversations we’ve had with the community about how our game could improve. Now we can tweak, tune, and change gameplay specifically for Competitive play. You’ll notice it in the details: Fewer keeper rebound goals and tackles bouncing back to opponents, cutting down on randomness across the pitch Adjusted player stamina, so controlled players stay agile longer, encouraging active defending and smart switching More responsive one-touch passing and shooting, now triggerable as little as one frame before receiving the ball It’s not just fast-paced. It’s intended to be a more consistent gameplay experience. More info on Competitive Gameplay: https://www.ea.com/games/ea-sports-fc/fc-26/news/pitch-notes-fc26-gameplay-deep-dive. Updated Match Outcomes In Football Ultimate Team In EA SPORTS FC 25, we released a post-launch update to match outcomes in FUT, focused on player frustration around not receiving a win when an opponent quits a Football Ultimate Team match when it’s a draw. In FC 26, we are taking another step forward here, adding disconnects (including dashboard quits) to the previously enabled quits. What this means is that when certain conditions are met, when playing Live Events, Rivals, and Champions you would receive a win when your opponent either quits or disconnects from the match when the score line is a draw. We are still finalizing what those conditions will be, but similar to how this worked in FC 25, there will be a limit on the number of times a player is able to receive a win from this each day, as well as a set of conditions within the match itself that would need to be met. We will communicate the specifics around those conditions closer to launch in the Launch Update Pitch Notes. As we discussed last year, this is a complex space. When we change how players get wins, draws, or losses, exploits may occur, so we must be careful about how we make these changes. What is listed here may also change, based on whether our analysis and/or observations indicate that these changes are negatively impacting the player experience. More to come on this closer to launch. RUSH Match Outcomes / Matchmaking Delays We know that the best RUSH matches are built on the experiences you have with your teammates. So when those teammates are quitting or disconnecting, it can be a frustrating experience. To encourage teammates in FUT RUSH to keep fighting until the end of the match, we are introducing matchmaking delays in FUT RUSH for players who consistently leave matches early. We are still finalizing the specifics around this, which we will communicate to you ahead of launch in the Launch Update Pitch Notes. We will also be closely monitoring feedback on this as it’s a new space for FC and we may need to make adjustments as we see how it impacts the player experience. GK, Repeatable Evolutions, & Cosmetic Upgrades Yes, GK Evos are coming to FC 26! We’re also making additional changes that give you more freedom & clearer progression as you build your Football Ultimate Team. Repeatable Evolutions Repeatable Evolutions give you more flexibility, with some able to be completed multiple times, similar to select SBCs or Objectives. Most will be limited repeatable, meaning they can be completed a set number of times. Allowing you to apply them to multiple Player Items or even use them again on the same Player Item if eligible. It takes the pressure off making the “perfect” choice right away and gives you more freedom to shape your squad your way Cosmetic Stacking & Rarity Layers You can now evolve players without changing their item design, unless a specific Evolution changes the rarity. Evolution status is marked with new Badging that can also be used in Squad Requirements, making it easier to track and build around evolved players in Live Events, and Rush. Cosmetic upgrades now stack, and only overwrite each other when they affect the same type, so your unique looks stay intact across Evolutions. Even when an item’s rarity changes, animation and badge effects that aren’t tied to rarity will carry over. Plus, Evolution consumables now preview the cosmetics and rarity they unlock, helping you choose the right path for your squad. Note that FC 26 Ultimate Edition owners start with 2 active Evo slots at launch. Graduated Transfer Market Access Graduated Access, which limits some accounts' access to the Transfer Market when they first access Football Ultimate Team, has been live in EA SPORTS FC 25 on PC since late 2024. In FC 26, it will be active for all platforms, starting at launch. If you're a returning FUT player on the same platform (Xbox, PlayStation, PC or Switch), and your account meets the requirements and is in good standing, you’ll have immediate access to the full Transfer Market when you log in for the first time in FC 26. If you are a new player or your account did not meet the requirements, a series of Foundation Objectives will grant Transfer Market access once they have been completed, and a period of time has passed. Limiting transfer market access for new accounts helps protect the economy from potential rules-breaking activity while ensuring that actual new players are introduced to FUT at a more measured pace. It’s one more way we’re focusing on player trust and system integrity from day one. Objectives Previously, you would have to navigate to Objectives in order to find available objectives and their rewards. In the new FC 26 Play Menu, relevant objectives will be viewable while highlighting each game mode. For Live Events, you can also see the entry requirements, so you know exactly what’s needed to join. We’ll be sharing even more FUT details in upcoming Launch Update Pitch Notes and on our social channels, so be sure to keep an eye out for that. As always keep the feedback coming, keep letting us know what you think over on the Feedback Hub.EA SPORTS FC™ 26 | FC Feedback Deep Dive
Hey everyone! As your EA SPORTS FC Community team, we’re excited to share all of the ways that we continuously gather feedback, how it shaped FC 26 and how it will continue to shape future development. Over the next few weeks, you’ll hear us talk a lot about features that have been inspired by your feedback, like more responsive gameplay, reduced tacklebacks and Zlatan returning to FC as one of the most requested ICONs. In this article, we’ll outline exactly how we do this, and how you can continue playing an important role in our development process. We’ve launched the new FC Feedback Hub to capture all of the ways you can provide feedback about FC in one space. Let’s start with some of our more direct lines of feedback. Player Feedback Portal The Player Feedback Portal enables you to give our devs direct feedback about the game, which enables us to make updates, changes, and decisions based on what you tell us. Player Feedback Portal Summary The Player Feedback Portal is the best way of sending your feedback to our dev teams in a structured format that helps us tie your feedback to in-game data. We review all your feedback through the different methods outlined in this article, but the main benefit of the structured Portal format is that it enables us to efficiently take your feedback into account when working on the game, including everything from addressing issues to making balance changes. The structured nature of the Portal makes it easier for us to review your feedback per game area through a recurring process that runs throughout the whole season. And when we group your Portal feedback with the other methods in this article, we’re able to understand what you’re saying at a much deeper level. ** Don’t forget that your feedback can even influence new features and general design decisions. How The Portal Works For You You visit the Player Feedback Portal and it asks you to sign in with your EA account. This helps us take a much deeper look into your feedback and general player trends. You select which part of the game you want to give feedback on. You answer a few short questions and write down your feedback. You submit your feedback and can select another part of the game to give feedback on if you’d like. How We Use Your Portal Responses Our dev, community, and player facing teams meet regularly to review your Portal feedback. We analyze data to spot trends, correlations, and validate findings based on a mixture of your feedback and general trends. These insights help guide what updates we work on and how we approach them. Sometimes, more information is needed and you’ll see us asking you questions in-game or through Discord. Going forward, we’ll share more directly and clearly which changes happen to the game as a result of your feedback and this process. A Real World Example - Failed Tackle Transitions In FC 25, we made this change in a Title Update thanks to your Portal feedback: Failed tackles can now take longer to transition out of, with hard tackles being the most impacted. The intent of this change is to reduce situations where failed tackles instantaneously lead to another tackle attempt. Our teams already had tackle transitions on their radar, but more info was needed before deciding on what to do next. You gave us thousands of responses in the Portal, many which went into great detail about the issue. This helped our teams hone in on which systems to investigate, and the data from players giving feedback was used to contextualize the findings. Once we were confident about understanding the issue and how to approach it in a way that would improve your in-game experience, the update was prepared and released just a few weeks later. FAQ: Where Do I Go To Give You Portal Feedback? The Portal for FC 26 will launch alongside the game. We’ll be sharing the link to it across all our socials, the Feedback Hub, EASFC Tracker, in-game, and pretty much everywhere else we can put it. Design Councils For more than four years, our EA SPORTS FC Design Councils have worked directly with our development teams, sharing feedback from diverse community perspectives to influence the game across modes. What is a Design Council? Design Council members usually represent a larger community focused on certain modes or experiences in FC. Design Council members can cover a wide range of profiles, including: Content Creators EA SPORTS FC Pro Players Core EA SPORTS FC Players Accessibility Advocates Their input helps guide short-term and long-term development to deliver on wider community feedback. How Design Councils Work Design Councils speak directly to our development teams to discuss specific FC topics, including: Gameplay Live Content Ultimate Team Career Clubs Women’s Football Accessibility These feedback sessions exist in many forms, like remote video calls, in-person playtesting, and remote playtesting. They are usually smaller groups focused on specific topics to go into as much detail as possible. This feedback and perspective continues to help our development teams understand what to focus on to deliver on community feedback, but it’s not the only place we’re speaking directly with our players. Let’s jump into Discord next. Discord EA SPORTS FC Global Discord Since its official launch in September 2024, our aim has been to make the EA SPORTS FC Global Discord a central hub for community discussion and real-time feedback. This space is designed to foster a two-way conversation between our Community and the Studio. How the Feedback Loop Works The Discord server is monitored daily by members of our EA SPORTS FC teams, ensuring that game feedback is reviewed, acknowledged, and, when relevant, shared across internal development teams. This isn’t a one-way street. In addition to collecting insights, we regularly engage with members directly to clarify points, ask follow-up questions, and close the loop on conversations. How We Collect Feedback on Discord We’ve built a structured system to capture community feedback from Discord discussions. Here are some of the ways we do that: #game-feedback threads: Our teams are regularly monitoring and collecting feedback in the game-feedback channel. This works in two ways. EA SPORTS FC threads - When updates go live in FC, our team will start feedback threads to gather feedback about a certain topic. Anyone can jump in to join the discussion. Community threads - These are threads started by our players. Our server members can start their own threads to drive new feedback discussions with other players. We’re monitoring these channels too. #polls: This is a quick way to understand how our players are feeling about certain things in FC. For certain topics, our team may post polls to ask specific questions for any server member to answer. We use this data to take back to our teams to better understand how certain features or updates are landing with players. If you haven’t already, join the conversation in our official EA SPORTS FC Discord and help shape the future of FC. EA SPORTS FC Pro Discord We also have our FC Pro Discord server which involves the highest level of players who have earned their spots at our top level events including the FC Pro Open, eChampions League, and FC Pro World Championship. How FC Pro Discord Feedback Works When a competitor qualifies for one of our live events, we invite them to join the FC Pro Discord community. Competitors are able to give their feedback directly on both the FC Pro ecosystem as well as the game. Competitors submit gameplay clips showcasing parts of the game that they feel could be improved to help identify what does and doesn’t work at the highest levels of play. Gameplay producers use this information both to help balance the game in a way that works for all levels of play, and to understand what mechanics are potentially misunderstood or underused. Social Listening Beyond direct feedback sources, social listening tools play a major role in helping us keep up with what players are saying across the community. Social listening tools help us spot trends, understand player sentiment, and bring that insight back into the development process. How Social Listening Works Using social listening tools, we’re able to gather and analyze FC discussions across Reddit, Discord, YouTube, X, Instagram, Facebook, and Steam. This gives us a way to quantify what players are feeling and talking about at scale, so we’re not just relying on isolated opinions or the loudest voices. Social listening tools help us identify key issues, validate what we might already suspect, or uncover things we might have missed. But data alone isn’t enough, that’s where the community team comes in. We’re continuously monitoring social channels manually, cross-referencing what we’re seeing with what our tools surface, and integrating them alongside all our other feedback pillars to get the fullest picture possible. This helps us bring forward the most important community topics to the teams who can take action on them. It’s a way of making sure that the conversations happening across the community are informing how the game evolves. Whether it’s praise or criticism, social listening tools play a major role in tracking your feedback. Every bit of feedback helps us better understand what matters most to you, so please keep sharing your thoughts. EA Forums The EA Forums are an official, EA-moderated space where players can discuss the game, report issues, request troubleshooting support, and share feedback on the game. How The EA Forums Work You’ll often see the EA Forum Moderation team posting in this space and behind the scenes we also have a dedicated team actively monitoring the forums and capturing actionable feedback shared by the community. We use the EA Forums as a key source to keep our Feedback Items up to date and aligned with current player sentiment, while also supporting the creation of new Feedback items based on community input. New examples, videos, suggestions, and discussion points are regularly sourced directly from the forums. In collaboration with the EA Community Moderators, we ensure the EA Forums remain a vital channel for making sure your voice is heard. You can check out the EA SPORTS FC Forums Here. What’s Next Be sure to keep an eye out for more details on FC 26 across our upcoming Deep Dives. Feedback Updates All of these feedback sources continue to work together to paint an overall picture of community feedback for our teams. As part of FC Feedback, we’ll be keeping you close to the development process by providing regular updates about what we’re working on to address your feedback. Join our Discord to get notified when we post these updates, or keep checking in at ea.com/fcfeedback. You can also find a link to FC Feedback through our social channel Linktree. Thanks for helping us improve the future of FC together. Talk soon!
