What changed in EA SPORTS FC™ 26 in 2026

Over 100 new international players and two new ICONS, Rivellino and Mario Kempes, added to the FUT pool.

Players can now only receive a win from disconnects a maximum of 3 times a day, resetting at 00:00 UTC.

The time required for a win to be awarded after a disconnect has been reduced from 20 minutes to 10 minutes.

Players can now receive a win sooner if the opponent quits or disconnects on a draw during matches, with new conditions applied.

Log in between 5 June and 24 July to earn a 93 OVR Festival of Football ICON Pelé.

Fixed a visual issue where Token Packs in the Token Store unintentionally display the Previewable icon.

Reduced pressure and marking tightness of AI defenders when Team Press is activated in the defensive half.

The EA SPORTS FC 26 Festival of Football Season 8 is now live.

A standalone tournament mode launching on 4 June featuring 53 licensed national teams.

Introduces a dedicated Event Hub for international action in Football Ultimate Team starting 4 June.

Added new objectives related to international tournaments in EA SPORTS FC™ 26.

Featuring 48 national teams.

Reduced the boost to shoulder challenges from Bruiser and Bruiser+ to improve gameplay balance.

New stadiums added for gameplay.

Enhanced shoulder challenge outcomes to better reflect player strengths and PlayStyles.

New reward type allowing players to earn Festival of Football tokens across various game modes starting 4 June.

Players can roll back and reset Evolutions in their Club after the World’s Game Update.

Addressed various stability issues that could have occurred.

Fan favourites return to the pitch in Football Ultimate Team, enhancing gameplay with their unique abilities.

New Prime Heroes Evolutions added to the game, providing players with upgraded versions of their favorite characters.

Live Events introduced to Football Ultimate Team, offering dynamic challenges and rewards.

The official Ultimate Team of the Season is here, celebrating the standout players of the 2025/26 campaign.

Celebrate season-defining performers across Spain’s top leagues in Football Ultimate Team™.

Addressed a stability issue that could have occurred.

Addressed an issue where, in some instances, control of the avatar could be lost during a Clubs Mode match.

Addressed an issue where, in some instances, control of the player could be lost during a Rush match.

Celebrate season-defining performers in Ligue 1 with the new Team of the Season in Football Ultimate Team™.

Celebrate season-defining performers in the National Women's Soccer League with the new Team of the Season in Football Ultimate Team™.

Celebrate season-defining performers in the Arkema Première Ligue with the new Team of the Season in Football Ultimate Team™.

Refined detection of challenges from behind, predicting player movement and cancelling unrealistic challenges.

Addressed cases where the Bruiser+ icon appeared when it wasn’t impacting the play.

Slightly reduced the boost from Bruiser and Bruiser+ in shoulder challenge situations.

Added a matching boost for dribblers with Enforcer or Enforcer+ to create more balanced interactions.

Enhanced how players react after contact, allowing stronger tacklers to knock weaker players off balance more realistically.

Celebrate season-defining performers across Germany's top leagues in Football Ultimate Team™.

Fixed specific cases that caused game performance to drop to low frame rates after the second half.

An incorrect team would display when starting a new Manager Career with an Icon Player.

Addressed various stability issues that could have occurred.

Youth player height generation has been adjusted for more realistic and balanced prospects.

Addressed instances of text not appearing.

The Actions button callout was unavailable when using the Compare Price function.

Updated trophy images, boots, kits, ad boards, overlays, crests, logos, star heads, hair, backdrop sponsors, anthems, stadiums, banners, flags, and scarves.

CPU Slider settings would reset to default after relaunching the game and loading a save.

The Objectives button opened the FC HUB instead of the Objectives screen.

Celebrate season-defining performers in Football Ultimate Team™.

Addressed an issue preventing some PC players from launching FC 26, causing stability issues.

Addressed various stability issues that could have occurred.

Added a missing separator in European competition standings for better clarity on playoff teams.

Added labels next to team crests in challenge descriptions to differentiate men's and women's teams.

Goalkeepers will now kick the ball out of play if a player excessively wastes time by passing back to them repeatedly.

Updated names, overlays, kits, sponsors, crests, banners, scarves, flags, logos, hair, boots, star heads, and ad boards.

Fixed issue where ICON players could request low wages during contract negotiations in Manager Career.

In Career Mode, when applying for a job, it now automatically adds the team to your watchlist.

Addressed instances of incorrect or overlapping text.

Fixed issue where some Player Celebration animation previews did not display when selected.

Managers with low job security at season's end are now upgraded to Okay.

Added a clearer description on the challenge completion UI explaining how saves and career progress work after completion.

Fixed issue where Managers were incorrectly assigned to a different team when selecting Icons & Heroes in career creation.

Fixed issue where a League-winning team was placed in the incorrect European League.

Fixed issue where some kits and badges were not searchable in the transfer market.

Addressed various stability issues that could have occurred.

Further adjusted Match Rating calculation logic for CAMs to avoid unintentionally high calculations.

Fixed an issue where all players on the field were using the same boots during matches in Manager Live.

Fixed an issue where swapping to the Position tab in Development Plans would cause Role Growth to disappear.

Addressed an issue where Scout reports could provide incorrect attribute values.

Addressed various stability issues that could have occurred during gameplay.

Changed the default filter from 'Any' to the highlighted position when adding or swapping Player Items.

Fixed an issue where some players were incorrectly displayed as out of position in the match preview screen.

Updated the injury duration selection in the Injuries and Suspensions menu.

Resolved an issue where some leagues were shown as unavailable when attempting to replace teams in certain challenges.

Enhanced visibility of qualification zones in competition standings in Deeper Sim.

Updated some social media posts within Career Mode.

Updated various visual elements including crests, banners, scarves, flags, scenes, camera angles, overlays, celebrations, text, hair, ad boards, and cinematics.

Addressed instances of overlapping text in various menus.

New themed Squad Building Challenges (SBCs) related to the summer of football.

Boosted stats and enhanced nation Chemistry links for players on the cusp of international selection.

Introduction of one nation tournaments.

EA Play members can log in to receive a Football Ultimate Team Draft Token until April 23.

Football Ultimate Team™ turns 17, featuring Heroes, ICONs, and 5-Star upgrades.

Party with standout players who have defined your season, including Weekend League warriors and Gauntlet saviours.

Create your own FUT Birthday baller with brand-new Evolutions.

Accuracy of ground and first-time passes with the Tiki Taka PlayStyle has been reduced.

The accuracy of lofted passes has been reduced.

Increased the Archetype level cap from 80 to 90.

Increased the speed of Fake Shot, Heel Chop, and Feint and Exit by 5%.

Dynamic Development Plans introduced to reflect a player’s role more closely.

New Live Starting Points and ICONs including Ronaldinho, Gareth Bale, Fernando Torres, and Aya Miyama will be added.

Added a new visual Pitch Wear setting reflecting seasonal weather conditions, defaulted to OFF.

Chip Shots are now less likely to go wide and have increased accuracy.

Training Plans will be automatically pre-selected based on the player’s closest available role when starting a new save.

Slight increase in accuracy of lofted ground and through passes using the Inventive PlayStyle.

Improved trajectory and increased accuracy of Power Shots when taken with the Power Shot PlayStyle.

Players without the Incisive Pass PlayStyle can now curve through balls if they have high attributes in Short Pass, Long Pass, and Curve.

Improved accuracy and speed of ground passing, especially for players with higher passing attributes.

Increased the number of customisable PlayStyle slots from 7 to 8, unlocked at level 90.

Players with less than a year on their contract will be open to negotiation when joining a new club.

Increased the maximum range of Archetype-specific attributes.

Addressed an issue where attacking players could remain stationary after repositioning.

New system rewards players in Football Ultimate Team based on on-pitch performances, enhancing OVRs and PlayStyles.

Tuning attributes and several PlayStyles (Tiki Taka, Incisive Pass, Inventive Pass) to enhance player effectiveness.

Rolled back a change from Title Update 1.4.2 that caused inaccurate knuckle ball shots to occur more often than intended.

Overall changes to Power Shots and Chip Shots to improve gameplay.

10 more Tokens will drop on 20 February.

Complete trade-in Squad Building Challenges to exchange Tokens for Player Items, Packs, or Evolutions.

Take on themed Objectives through Squad Battles, Live Events, and Champs to earn the first 10 Tokens.

Added a new Social Media panel that surfaces active Challenge Objectives during challenge scenarios.

Inaccurate knuckle ball shots could have occurred more often than intended.

Updated some badges, logos, hair, boots, star heads, lighting, kits, tattoos, 2D portraits, scarves, banners, cameras, button callouts, overlays and TIFOs.

Once emptied, short-term stamina could have previously only been recovered if players became idle.

Addressed various stability issues that could have occurred.

Added a new Contract Extension setting under Transfer & Scouting that enables you to choose how open players might be to contract extensions.

Updated visuals and animations for scheduling loading screen.

After requesting a transfer, players could not have always been offered new contacts.

Addressed an issue where the goalkeeper could've deflected the ball too accurately during an anticipation save.

In Live Start Points, women’s teams were unintentionally present in some leagues.

Goalkeepers were sometimes holding the ball for longer than intended when a pass was requested.

Create your own Future Stars Academy player with themed Evolutions.

Players will soon be able to start Training Camp Evolutions directly in Ultimate Team.

Players can now choose how willing players are to negotiate contracts nearing expiration.

Spotlighting breakout seasons from young players with huge potential.

Men’s and Women’s Team of the Year XIs are now available in-game alongside the 12th player and first ever TOTYs Captains.

The official EA SPORTS FC™ 26 Team of the Year Goalkeepers and Defenders are now available in-game.

Celebrate the TOTYs with the Team of the Year Edition including 5,000 Season Points and exclusive player packs.

Choose 1 of 5 Defenders from the 2025 Highlights.

Includes 11 TOTY Nominee Gold Player Items rated 82 or higher.

Three 2025 Highlights 1 of 5 Player Item Picks, all untradeable, rated up to 88 OVR.

Choose 1 of 5 Midfielders from the 2025 Highlights.

Choose 1 of 5 Attackers from the 2025 Highlights.

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

Certain Archetype options are now ineligible based on the selected Origin Story.

EA Play members can access an Ultimate Team Draft and receive a Draft Token automatically.

Changes made to job security logic for managers reaching Insecure status.

Contract durations for ICONs and Heroes have been extended up to 3 years.

Defenders on the goal line can now make automatic clearances in critical situations.

Resolved cases where incorrect Acceleration Types could be set by the user.

Players with lower Strength Attributes will stumble more often in shoulder challenges against stronger players.

Addressed an issue where refresh rate could unintentionally change to 60Hz.

A new hub for learning about the latest campaigns in Ultimate Team will be added.

Refined height thresholds for Lengthy run types; minimum height for men's players is now 185 cm.

Corrected a visual issue where the Team Management screen did not display correct Acceleration Types.

Accuracy of acrobatic shots taken immediately after a flick has been further reduced.

Added separate Contract and General fields for player negotiation willingness and potential.

Resolved an issue where a trophy would sometimes display in the corner of the pitch.

Resolved cases where the radial menu appeared unintentionally.

Resolved specific cases of framerate issues occurring in the second half of matches.

Addressed an issue where the highlighted item would default incorrectly after previewing an Evolution consumable.

CPU AI will now take a more proactive and attacking approach in Squad Battles, reducing passive play.

Starting Skill Level has been replaced with Starting AP based on chosen Origin Story.