EA Sports FC 26’s hype machine has officially been switched to its ‘on’ position, with a first trailer – featuring a smattering of gameplay from this year’s iteration – and plenty of promises around “innovations powered by community feedback”. That’s alongside confirmation of a 26th September launch on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and PC.
The trailer itself immediately kicks off with a cheeky wink to fans’ demands for gameplay, before showing just that, albeit amid various cinematic bits, and plenty of other onscreen chaos. The big theme this time around, though, is that EA has – so it suggests – really, really listened to fans, with promise of an “overhauled gameplay experience, powered by [community] feedback”.
The top-level stuff includes “refined gameplay fundamentals”, including “improved dribbling responsiveness and fluidity, re-tuned run curves for more explosive player movement, all new reinforcement-learning-driven goalkeeper positioning, close-body volumetric animations, [and] more versatile Playstyles and Player Roles”. But EA’s announcement goes further, with talk of new Competitive and Authentic gameplay presets – the first (designed for Football Ultimate Team and Clubs) being focused on “consistency and enhanced responsiveness”, while the latter promises “the most true-to-football experience ever in Career”.
Elsewhere, Manager Career gets a new Manager Live “hub”, promising regularly released new scenarios and “ever-changing variable-length Challenges”, and there are new classes – Archetypes – for Clubs and Player Career. “Develop your abilities,” EA says, “by upgrading attributes and unlocking Archetype Perks to give your player a distinct feel on the pitch.”
Finally, for now at least, there’s talk of Live Events and Tournament modes, as well as a refreshed Rivals and Champs experience. And all this comes in a game promising 20,000 athletes, 750 clubs & national teams, 120 stadiums, and 35 leagues.
EA Sports FC 26 – which this year features Jude Bellingham and Jamal Musiala as its cover stars, and Zlatan Ibrahimović as its Ultimate Edition star – launches for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC, Switch, Switch 2, and Amazon Luna on 26th September. There’s also a week’s early access for Ultimate Edition purchasers, beginning on 19th September. Additionally, EA Play members can get stuck into a 10-hour early access trial on the same day.
EA Sports FC 25 – which got a three star review from Eurogamer – ‘underperformed’ for EA, which might go some way to explaining its frantic grasp for fan approval this time around.
