What changed in EA SPORTS FC™ 26 in 2025

Squad Battles CPU AI will focus more on moving the ball up the pitch and creating chances quicker.

The player potential indicator will be reinstated in Career Mode alongside the contract renegotiation status indicator.

AI defenders will have slower reaction times when marking the ball carrier, allowing more space during transitions.

A New Releases hub will be added in Ultimate Team to highlight new SBCs, Objectives, and more.

Introduces a collection of festive favourites with ice cold upgrades and new Heroes and ICONs.

Players can log into Football Ultimate Team™ to receive a Classic XI Hero Pack featuring legendary players.

Classic XI Hero Items will receive a one-time upgrade to Team of the Year Honourable Mention Heroes at the start of Team of the Year.

The Classic XI Heroes event runs from December until January 12, allowing players to add Hero Items to their teams.

Introduction of 5v5 Rush matches celebrating samba style.

New skill upgrades allowing players to showcase their flair.

Fixed various stability issues that could occur.

This mechanic can still be performed during set pieces.

New tab added for quicker access to starting a new Live Start Point and Manager Live save.

Addressed instances of incorrect narrations in the game.

Greatly reduced movement speed and ground covered when using Manual Goalkeeper Movement.

Addressed poor reactions of goalkeepers to first time shots and diving issues.

Corrected the expiration time displayed for Training Camp Evolutions.

Addressed an issue where the controller was not recognized when reconnecting during gameplay.

New field in Squad Hub indicating players' willingness to extend contracts.

Players will now look to run into open space more often to avoid being passive.

Addressed the issue of missing group rewards for favourite marked Objectives.

Enhanced logic for goalkeepers in 1 on 1 scenarios and when chasing loose balls.

Main menu updated to reflect the holiday spirit.

Goalkeepers can now transition faster to the next action after catching the ball.

Improved logic to prevent incorrect offside calls on players.

Enhanced referee logic when making penalty calls involving goalkeeper fouls.

Fixed incorrect information displayed in the Objective tracker when an Evolution Player Item was present.

Addressed instances of placeholder text and incorrect UI elements.

Slightly decreased accuracy of headed passes and lowered crossing ball trajectory height.

Various updates to audio and commentary elements.

Increased consistency and assistance for goalkeepers when claiming crosses.

Group Objective expiration timer now appears in the Favourite Objectives Tab.

Ten Classic XI teams added to Kick Off mode.

Player Archetype preview tile now shows current XP and XP needed for the next level.

Addressed incorrect gameplay and cinematic camera angles and animations.

Players can now rematch in Rush mode shortly after the update.

AI defenders will mark pass receivers on the edge of their box less tightly.

Stability issues related to Multi-Swap in Football Ultimate Team have been addressed in FC 26 v1.2.1.

Goalkeeper Movement will be adjusted to be less effective in an upcoming December update.

The unintended slowdown of Controlled Sprint Dribbling has been reverted to improve responsiveness.

CPU AI will look for passes more often, make quicker decisions, and dribble more effectively.

Emphasis on play-to-earn objectives rather than win-to-earn for better reward balance.

Shifted focus to provide bigger, more comprehensive upgrades for player items.

Players can now relegate into Division 7 for smoother progression.

Making Through Passes more consistent, less assisted, and respectful of player aim input.

Max level increased from 50 to 60, unlocking a new customizable PlayStyle slot.

Weekly rewards in Division Rivals will be more reflective of player effort and engagement.

Slightly increased Sprint Jockey speed and moderately increased Jockey and Sprint Jockey responsiveness for user controlled players.

Increased aggressiveness of player marking for AI players during kick-offs to reduce scoring.

Added sorting filters: Sort By Newest and Sort By Expiry.

Addressed various PC-specific issues including graphics settings resets and performance drops.

Players can favorite Objectives and track progress in the pause menu.

Refined Manager Market logic for more authentic experiences and reduced unrealistic manager movements.

Preview Evolution challenge requirements and player eligibility before owning the corresponding EVO.

Updated incorrect Ultimate Team Online Draft rewards and contacted impacted players in-game.

Tuned Low Driven Shots to be less accurate when shooting with extreme power based on Closed Beta feedback.

Increased frequency of wingers making attacking runs into the box and improved teammate offside awareness.

Increased responsiveness of saves and improved auto positioning assistance for goalkeepers.

Fixed issues where players acted unhappy after signing new contracts and other contract-related problems.

Addressed technical performance issues on PC and controller input drops.

Defending team will now position themselves more compactly for a short period after a kick-off.

Addressed a matchmaking issue where the Form aspect wasn't working as intended.

Addressed various connectivity and matchmaking issues affecting players.

Preview of new Season, Season Pass, and improvements to manual defending and kick-offs.

Addressed cases of players not being able to perform Physical Tackles, especially with specific PlayStyles.

Matches will be played at night when the Stadium Shadow option is set to Off.

Increased auto positioning assistance when trying to claim a cross.

Reverted the kick off defensive positioning change made in v1.0.2.

Addressed instances where players received the connection to lobby lost error message when searching for a League Match.

Addressed various stability issues that could have occurred.

Addressed instances of Finesse Shots curling opposite of their intended direction.

Addressed instances of certain Evolutions not displaying following a specific UI flow.

Increased responsiveness of saves and improved timing window for requesting a save.

Addressed cases of players not being able to perform Physical Tackles, especially with specific PlayStyles.

Addressed issue where it was not always possible to interact with transfer offers for players requesting a transfer.

Fixed instances where a Trivela Shot could occur instead of the requested Finesse Shot.

Addressed instances of the goalkeeper not facing the ball when getting up from a save.

Fixed issue where resolution changes in full screen mode were not always saving.

Players could sometimes pull out of blocking animations too early.

Fixed issue where contract extension messages were not displayed in the Central Hub.

Added Game Type information on the pre-match screen in Kick Off.

The Season 1 Premium Pass previously required Ultimate Edition players to restart the game to claim it.

Addressed instances of launching the game through an invite not placing the recipient in the match lobby.

Improved performance during corner kicks.

Reduced the accuracy of Acrobatic shots taken right after a Rainbow Flick.

Optimized cloth physics to reduce impact on performance.

Resolution and Display settings could have sometimes reset after closing the game.

Addressed various stability issues that could have occurred.

Addressed instances of players taking a Trivela Shot at the keeper when a lace shot would have been more beneficial.

Addressed some instances of controllers not responding in gameplay while continuing to investigate reports.

After signing a new contract, players could have acted unhappy leading to a notification about a lack of contract offer and eventually leading to a transfer request.

Incorrect Bios could have appeared on Gold Player Items.

The defending team will now position themselves more compactly for a short period of time after a kick off.

Wing Backs will no longer drop too deep in their own half when their team is in possession.

Various stability improvements made throughout the game.

A goalkeeper dive indicator now displays where an incoming shot is coming from.

Player Item portraits were sometimes misaligned on the Squad screen.

Improved positioning of players with low defensive depth and reduced likelihood of Center Backs running wide.

Addressed a few cases of unresponsive controllers with an upcoming update.

Identified and will address an issue related to adjusting display settings while in Borderless mode.

Increased frequency of wingers making attacking runs into the box and improved teammate offside awareness.

Improved cases of unexpected heavy touches when sprinting in wet weather.

Investigating performance losses during gameplay and cutscenes, targeting updates including v1.0.2.

Improvements made to borderless display setting and controller responsiveness.

Low Driven Shots are now less accurate when shooting with an extreme amount of power.

Continuing investigations into players unable to enter the game, following previous fixes.

Difficult to perform Driven Ground Passes are now less accurate.

Players could’ve incorrectly left your club when simming through the calendar.

Addressed a few instances of controllers not recognizing inputs.

Players weren’t always able to enter multiplayer gameplay after accepting a Co-Op invite.

Provided a workaround for players missing pre-order content or Season Pass access by restarting the game.

Resolved the issue causing players to connect to non-optimal FC Game Data Centers.

Currently investigating reports of controllers not responding or dropping inputs during matches.

Looking into reports of graphical performance issues and stability, including freezing on the Squad screen.

Addressed the issue preventing players from entering the game shortly after launch.

New options for monitor selection, aspect ratio filtering, frame rate limits, VSync options, render scale, and dynamic resolution FPS target.

Enhanced usability with informative settings descriptions and graphics quality presets.

Introduction of EA Javelin Anticheat for enhanced fair play protection.

Added immersive support for DualShock®4 and DualSense™ controllers.

Minimum and recommended PC specifications provided for optimal gameplay.

Compete in new ways across Football Ultimate Team with new Live Events.

New repeatable EVOs added to Football Ultimate Team.

Tournaments make a return to Football Ultimate Team.

Experience a revamped Rivals and Champs mode in Ultimate Team.

A new Competitive Gameplay preset tuned specifically for Ultimate Team.

Introduction of Unexpected Events based on modern football twists.

New gameplay preset tailored for enhanced Career realism.

New active Manager Market with realistic sackings and unique job opportunities.

Learn about the new Manager Live Challenges in the upcoming season.