Hey everyone – thanks to everyone who jumped into the EA FC 26 Closed Beta and poured feedback into the Player Feedback Portal and the Beta forums. Your reports helped the EA developers find the rough spots fast.
Below we run through the ten problems that bubbled up most often during the Closed Beta, explain why they matter in-game, and summarise the fixes EA SPORTS has on the way.
Table of Beta Issues
EA FC 26 Beta Issues
Low driven shots feeling effective
What players saw: Driven (low) shots were scoring more often than expected, with keepers sometimes failing to react convincingly. That felt unfair in both online and offline matches.
What EA is doing: EA’s team says they’re improving goalkeeper reaction logic for low driven shots and plan to ship updates before Early Access on September 19. Devs have shared work-in-progress clips in the Feedback Hub to show how keeper reactions will be more realistic.
What to expect: Expect goalies to get better at closing down low-driven attempts and sending more saves to safe space or out of play rather than gifting rebounds.
AI defenders are too fast
What players saw: In EA FC 26 Closed Beta Attackers getting caught too easily by defenders who looked unnaturally quick.
What EA found: The issue wasn’t defenders sprinting faster — it was attackers being slowed down by certain ball-trap animations. The animation made the ball carrier take longer to get moving, so defenders looked quicker by comparison.
What EA is doing: The team is reworking those trapping animations so attackers can transition more naturally and aren’t left exposed. This change is targeted for the Early Access window.
What to expect: Same defender speeds, but attackers should carry momentum more smoothly and win more tight races.
Attacking AI runs
What players saw: Teammates either not making the right runs or timing them badly (and going offside).
What EA is doing: EA says they’re tuning AI run recognition and timing so attackers recognise space faster and time runs to stay onside more reliably.
What to expect: Better off-the-ball movement from CPU attackers — smarter, less accidental offside, more realistic positional play in EA FC 26.
Clubs Archetypes progression unsatisfying
What players saw: Progression in EA FC 26 Clubs Archetypes didn’t reward players quickly enough and felt shallow in places.
What EA is doing: They’ll increase the Attribute Points (AP) awarded at level 1 and raise AP gained per level, giving players more meaningful early upgrades and a clearer sense of growth.
What to expect: Faster, more satisfying progression for Archetypes so Clubs players feel reward and choice sooner.
Manager Career – confusing messaging
What players saw: Mixed messages around when players are ready to discuss contract renewals, creating confusion about who wants to stay or go.
What EA is doing: Updating text and the renewal logic. Managers will now receive clearer weekly messages about players in the last 12–18 months of their contract, with specific indicators about willingness to renew.
What to expect: Clearer prompts and predictable renewal windows — less guesswork during transfer windows.
Heavy dribble touches
What players saw: Dribble touches sometimes sent the ball too far ahead, making dispossession too easy — notably in wet conditions on the Authentic preset.
What EA is doing: The team has flagged this as a wet-weather touch issue and will monitor and tune it with a Live Tuning Update closer to launch.
What to expect: Smoother, more realistic touches in adverse weather so ball control feels fair and consistent.
AI delay in Clubs
What players saw: AI teammates in Clubs could pause, take extra touches, or hesitate when you asked them to pass — wrecking flow in matches.
What EA is doing: Developers traced instances of the delay and are fixing the logic so AI teammates respond faster and more reliably in Clubs.
What to expect: Quicker, more intuitive AI reactions in Clubs — fewer dead stops and more natural passing sequences.
Be-A-Goalkeeper (BAG)
What players saw: BAG saves, dives and cross claims sometimes felt inconsistent or unresponsive.
What EA is doing: A set of BAG updates are being prepared for Early Access — including tweaks to cross claiming, save assistance, and increased animation coverage. The aim is to make BAG feel tight, responsive and reliable.
What to expect: More consistent dives, punch/catch decisions and smoother goalkeeper control when you take charge.
FUT Tournament time limits
What players saw: Time limits between matches in FUT Tournaments reduced flexibility and annoyed players who want to play at their own pace.
What EA decided: They heard the feedback and will not enforce those match-to-match time limits at launch. If limits return later for specific events, EA will announce them in advance.
What to expect: No forced time throttling at launch — play tournament matches on your timetable.
AI shot selection
What players saw: In some offline matches the CPU hesitated to shoot when it made sense, reducing challenge and realism.
What EA is doing: Devs are tuning shot selection logic so AI attackers take better opportunities when they present themselves.
What to expect: Smarter, bolder AI finishing in offline modes — more realistic shot frequency and better match flow.
Final Whistle
This wasn’t just a beta test – it was a community-powered debugging session. EA’s responses show they’re targeting specific animations and systems (not just tweating sliders). The result? A smoother, fairer EA FC 26 at launch (We Hope!).
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