EA SPORTS FC 26: New Gameplay and Career Mode Features

EA SPORTS FC 26 is set to redefine the virtual pitch with a suite of significant updates to its core gameplay and Career Mode, directly influenced by community feedback as EA SPORTS Team said.

The focus is clear: create a more responsive, intelligent, and customizable football experience, while adding unprecedented depth to the game’s single-player and cooperative modes.

EA SPORTS FC 26 Gameplay

Overhauled Gameplay, Powered by Community Feedback

Get ready for a more fluid and intuitive feel on the ball. EA SPORTS FC 26 introduces more responsive dribbling, allowing for tighter control in close quarters, and smarter AI positioning that will see your players make more intelligent runs and hold their shape defensively.

Movement is now sharper and more explosive, giving you that extra burst of speed to beat a defender.

Goalkeepers have also seen a major upgrade, reacting more naturally with improved positioning and a host of new, lifelike animations.

The introduction of new Playstyles and Player Roles gives you even more ways to shape how your team plays, allowing individual stars to truly shine with their unique abilities.

Play Your Way With Two Distinct Gameplay Presets

For the first time, FC 26 introduces two distinct gameplay presets, allowing you to tailor the on-pitch experience to your preferred mode.

Competitive Mode: Tuned for the head-to-head action of Football Ultimate Team and Clubs, this preset features faster passing, smarter keeper rebounds that fall into less dangerous areas, and more direct control over your players. It’s all about high-stakes, responsive action.

Authentic Mode: Designed to bring a true-to-football feel to modes like Career Mode, this preset emphasizes realism. It features more positionally-responsible defenders, realistic corner success rates, lifelike goalmouth scrambles, and a pace that more closely mirrors a real-world match.

Discover More Ways to Compete in Football Ultimate Team

Football Ultimate Team is expanding with fresh ways to test your squad. Compete in new knockout-style Tournaments that will test your skills across up to four rounds.

Dynamic Live Events will add more variety throughout the season with themed competitions and content.

A refreshed Rivals and Champs experience aims to refine the weekly grind, while new Bounties allow you to earn additional rewards or accelerate your progress.

Furthermore, EA SPORTS FC 26 is launching Challengers—a new second-tier weekend competition designed specifically for dedicated players in the lower Divisions, providing a new competitive arena to prove your skills.

Take On New Challenges in Manager and Player Career

Manager Career is receiving its biggest update in years. Experience the mode like never before with all-new Manager Live Challenges.

These dynamic, real-world scenarios and alternative storylines will drop throughout the season, challenging you to achieve specific goals.

These can range from a quick, few-minute objective to multi-season arcs, and completing them will earn you rewards like Season Points, Vanity items, and—for the first time ever—Icons and Heroes that you can sign and use in your modern-day club.

Adding another layer of realism, the Manager Market will now have a tangible impact on the pitch.

As new managers take over other teams, you’ll see their tactics transform over time, changing the dynamics of every new season and forcing you to adapt your strategy.

Team Up All Season Long in Clubs

Clubs in EA SPORTS FC 26 is all about teaming up. Experience more variety throughout the season by playing solo or with your Clubmates in dynamic Live Events.

These events feature new challenges with varying entry requirements, modified Rush gameplay, and alternate rules, creating fresh opportunities to earn rewards all year round.

Plus, for the first time ever, EA SPORTS FC 26 allows you to affiliate with up to three clubs at a time.

You can also become the last line of defence in Clubs Rush with the introduction of a completely revamped Be-A-Goalkeeper system.

Experience Unrivalled Authenticity

All of these new features are built on the foundation of authenticity that EA SPORTS FC is known for.

The game features over 20,000+ players, 750+ clubs, and 120+ stadiums across 35+ leagues.

EA SPORTS FC 26 is the only place you can play the iconic UEFA Champions League, Premier League, Bundesliga, and LALIGA EA SPORTS alongside the Frauen-Bundesliga, Barclays Women’s Super League, and the UEFA Women’s Champions League in the same game.

EA FC 26 overhauls gameplay with new presets & adds Manager Live Challenges, ICONs in Career Mode, and a revamped Clubs experience.

Stay tuned to ReFIFA for more deep dives, guides, and feature reveals as we count down to kickoff.