EA Sports is focusing on enhanced gameplay for FC 26, detailing their plans in a “Gameplay Deep Dive” video on their official YouTube channel.
While annual updates to FC (previously FIFA) often face criticism for being incremental, EA emphasizes significant refinements to the game engine aimed at creating a noticeably different playing experience in this new installment.
This focus on “making gameplay better” underscores EA’s commitment to a more grounded, community-focused approach with FC 26, which they tout as their “most community driven title” yet.
Many players will be particularly interested in the changes coming to what EA calls “Gameplay Fundamentals”.
These enhancements include:
- More responsive and fluid dribbling mechanics
- Streamlined movement with a simplified sprinting system
- More reliable goalkeepers who prioritize clearing the ball out of play or passing to teammates
- Tackles that are more likely to retain possession or deflect to a teammate
- The removal of timed finishing, replaced by a double-tap shooting mechanic for low-driven shots available to all players
Some improvements, like the “more responsive” dribbling, involve intricate adjustments to animations, foot preference logic, and the timing between touches.
Other changes are more apparent. The intermediate sprint styles, like “Controlled Lengthy,” have been eliminated, leaving just three core sprint types: Explosive, Controlled, and Lengthy. This aims to reduce instances of unexpected speed boosts for certain players.
Defensively, EA addresses two common player frustrations: rebound goals caused by goalkeeper errors and the ball seemingly returning to an attacker’s feet after a successful tackle.
Goalkeepers are receiving improved deflection control, increasing the likelihood of clearing the ball out of bounds or passing to a teammate. Furthermore, the game has been tweaked to help them track the ball better, curbing green-timed finesse and trivela exploits.
Similarly, the trajectory of loose balls after tackles has been revised to prevent the ball from automatically returning to the opponent’s possession.
Addressing the issue of unrealistic green-timed trivela shots, timed finishing has been removed entirely. The low-driven shot now requires a double-tap of the shoot button after charging the shot.
While timed finishing aimed to create a skill gap for high-level players, EA found it challenging to balance. In the later stages of FC 25, mastering timed finishing allowed players to score trivelas from nearly anywhere in the attacking third, disrupting reactive gameplay.
The real impact of these changes remains to be seen. Further details on the gameplay refinements in EA Sports FC 26 can be found in the gameplay deep dive video on EA Sports’ YouTube channel, including the 5 new PlayStyles being introduced.
EA Sports FC 26 is scheduled for release on September 26, 2025, on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo consoles, and PC.