FC 26 Gameplay Changes: All 100+ Changes, Removals & Overhauls Explained!

Published: Jul 23, 2025, 5:13 pm Updated: Jul 23, 2025, 5:20 pm

FC 26 brings massive gameplay changes, perhaps the most gameplay changes an EA FC title has introduced in a very long time, if not ever. These changes aim to completely overhaul the gameplay and were made by listening to community feedback.

It's not only about adding new and exciting features, but also removing mechanics players were complaining about, tweaking some that weren't performing as intended, and fixing plenty of gameplay issues regarding the AI, animations, and others.

New Gameplay Presets

FC 26 is introducing two gameplay presets: competitive and authentic. They are the biggest gameplay addition coming to this year's title, and allow players to experience the gameplay in two different ways.

Competitive is tailored for Ultimate Team and Clubs, delivering a faster and more responsive experience, perfect for a competitive setting. On the other hand, Authentic provides a more simulation-based approach, with slower passes, more rebound goals, realistically accurate tacking, and human-like animations. It's more immersive, realistic, and less predictable.

In online modes, such as Ultimate Team and Clubs, competitive is the only gameplay preset available. As for offline modes, such as Career mode, players can choose between competitive or authentic gameplay, as both are available.

FC 26 Gameplay Fundamentals

In FC 26, the gameplay fundamentals were revamped, with most mechanics being improved and new features being introduced, some of which can be game-changing. But that's now all, as a few features were also removed from the game, as is the case of timed finishing.

Dribbling

Dribbling was improved, with EA adding Dynamic Dribbling, which will give users more control over players, as well as increase the players' responsiveness when dribbling, leading to more consistent outcomes.

Agile dribbling was removed, as according to developers, the mechanic wasn't seeing much use, and its removal will make the shielding mechanic controls more consistent, which also makes the mechanic more effective and useful.

Here are the dribbling mechanisms that were tuned:

Dribble Touch Intervals - re-tuned how close the player keeps the ball to themselves when dribbling.
The interval between dribble touches varies between Competitive and Authentic.
Player Height - adjusted animation consistency and speed for players based on height to balance the performance between tall and short players.
Foot Preference - adjusted dribbling foot preference logic and animation branching logic to allow for more responsive ball control.
Dribbling Animation - re-evaluated and re-tuned our dribbling animation library to ensure the consistency, speed, and responsiveness for dribbling were standard across the board.
Animation transitions and branching have been improved for increased responsiveness and to diminish the feeling of being ‘locked in’ to animations.
Jog Dribble - increased speed of jog dribbling alongside improved logic for ball direction when dribbling to achieve more consistency in their desired speed.
Effort Dribble Touches - Effort Touch animations now trigger during drastic dribble turns to ensure faster and authentic turns.

Movement

One of the main complaints of players in previous EA FC titles is that the movement is very sluggish, inconsistent, and can feel quite heavy at times. This has a huge negative impact on gameplay, so developers focused on fixing that for FC 26. The main goal was to make all players more agile, while also making the fastest players on the pitch feel exactly like that, removing the sluggish and heavy feeling.

Here are all the movement changes coming in FC 26:

Explosive Sprint - increased player agility and explosiveness in every direction.
Run Styles - adjusted runs to be more natural and explosive to reflect the pace of an authentic football match.
Attacker Vs Defender Speed - improved the speed differentiation between Attackers versus Defenders to achieve an improved balance between the two.
Jockey - improved Jockey movement to be more agile and responsive.
New Jockey animations to improve maneuverability and feel more grounded.
Turns - improved animations for all types of turns (drastic turns, swivel turns, etc.) to be faster and more responsive.
Low Urgency - improved low urgency and relaxed animations for players not directly involved in the play to be less frantic and have them ready to accelerate when needed.

But that's not all, to make the fastest players feel exactly like it, and create a better acceleration balance, EA is reverting to the three acceleration types, with a few changes.

Explosive
Agility minimum 65
(Agility - Strength) >= 10
Acceleration minimum 80
Height has been separated between male and female players
Male height maximum 182cm (~6’0”)
Female height maximum 162cm (~5’4”)
Lengthy
Strength minimum 65
(Strength - Agility) >= 4
Acceleration minimum 40
Height has been separated between male and female players
Male height minimum 183 cm (~6’1”)
Female height minimum 164cm (~5’5”)
Controlled - any player that does not meet the other two requirements above.
Adjusted the early stages of all three types to be more responsive.
Adjusted deceleration of all players to be faster and snappier.

Goalkeeper

Goalkeepers received the biggest revamp of all gameplay fundamental mechanics, with improved positioning, AI, and the introduction of volumetric animations. The goal is to make goalkeepers feel more consistent and reliable, especially in competitive gameplay, while also feeling realistic in authentic gameplay.

Here are the gameplay changes made to goalkeepers in FC 26:

Deflection Control - added a new level of control for save deflections to significantly reduce the amount of deflections going back to opponents.
Most deflections will now go out of bounds, toward teammates, or to open space away from opponents.
Goalkeeper Senses - refined goalkeeper's ability to read shot trajectories to better reflect real-world save efforts and shot detection.
Technical Improvements - improved base systems for goalkeeper handling, more consistent shot-stopping, and more reasonable decision making in one-on-one situations.
Volumetric Animations - Based on real-world volumetric motion capture data, they result in more fluid and realistic movements.
They enhance the visual authenticity of the game but also ensure that goalkeepers respond more accurately to different types of shots and situations.
Reinforcement-Learning Goalkeeper Positioning - A new system uses machine learning to help AI-controlled goalkeepers make more realistic decisions about where to position themselves in the box.

Be-A-Goalkeeper

While Be-A-Goalkeeper changes are part of the overall goalkeeping, they are significant changes, as they pretty much change how the feature works in many ways, and so deserve their own section. The feature has received new controls, more assistance levels, revamped UI components, and a new and much-improved presentation.

Here are all the changes made to Be-A-GoalKeeper in FC 26:

Dive Direction - flicking the Right Stick will prepare your goalkeeper to dive in that direction for a short period.
Right Stick Flick
Cross Claiming - when there is a cross coming in, you have the ability to request either a catch or punch attempt, timing will matter.
Punch (When ball is crossed): ⚪ || B
Catch (When ball is crossed): ⬜ || X
One-on-One Situations - rushing the attacking dribbler, you have the ability to attempt to smother the ball or attempt to make yourself big to block the incoming shot. The direction of this action is based on your movement direction.
Rush: △ || Y
Ball pickup / smother: ⬜ || X
Reaction Save / Make Yourself Big: ⚪ || B
Reaction Saves - when the shooter is close or you wish to take the dive timing into your own hands, you can modify your dive direction to play an instant save attempt.
Reaction Dive On Demand: R1 + Right Stick Flick || RB + Right Stick Flick
New Dive Direction UI - a new Dive Direction UI that appears when there is potential for a shot.
Updated Positioning UI - updated the auto-positioning AR visual.
Camera - new 11v11 camera that brings you closer to the action with the ability to manually pan the camera.
Camera Pan: L1 + Left Stick direction || LB + Left Stick direction

Defending

When it comes to defending changes, they are all about tackling. Every EA FC player has felt the pain of making a great tackle, just so the ball bounced back to the opponent. Well, it seems EA FC has finally heard the community pleas and has decided to fix that.

Tacklebacks, bouncebacks, and reboundbacks have all been tuned, with the goal being to "reward you for well-timed challenges or anticipating a pass". This makes defending more risk-reward, with the reward now actually being worth it, hopefully. It makes going for a tackle as well a playing active defense more rewarding.

Here are all the changes made to tacklebacks, bouncebacks, and reboundbacks in FC 26:

Tackle Outcomes - improved logic when Stand or Slide tackling the ball to a teammate.
Shot Blocks - added a new deflection control system to make blocked shots put the ball away from danger.
Interceptions - added a new deflection control system to try to keep possession or move the ball to a teammate when making an interception.
Tackled Opponents - opponents will feel the effect of a tackle more severely when dispossessed of the ball by playing a realistic reaction after the tackle, thereby reducing the likelihood of them recovering the ball back right after getting successfully tackled.
Tackle Spam - improved logic for spamming tackle, to make the delay after a missed tackle more consistent.
Tackle vs Block - when pressing Stand Tackle near the dribbler about to take a shot, the defender will be more likely to try to tackle rather than block.
Tackles From Behind - reduced the effectiveness of tackling from behind the dribbler.
Tackle Personality - added more player personality for stand tackles
Players with a low stand tackle attribute (below 71) can only perform basic stand tackle animations.
Players with a medium stand tackle attribute (71-84) can perform most stand tackle animations.
Players with a high stand tackle attribute (85+) can perform all stand tackle animations.

Passing

Similar to movement, passing can at times feel very off in EA FC, feeling sluggish and unresponsive. In FC 26, changes were made to end that, and make passes as responsive as possible, as well as providing more passing options for players. Through Passes also underwent a massive revamp, as they are now more accurate.

Here are all the changes made to passing in FC 26:

Passing Angles - rebalanced animation restrictions to allow passing to cover a broader range of angles.
Faster Animations - enabled first-touch animations for passes when contextually appropriate, such as short distance passes.
Passes Behind - Increased animation coverage for 135° and 180° passes, also allowing backheel passes to play contextually in these scenarios.
First-time 135° and 180° through passes are now significantly less accurate to avoid Directed Run-related exploits.
Quick Passes - Optimized short-distance, low-power passes to prefer faster, more responsive animations with minimal wind-up.
Note that in Competitive Gameplay, first-time pass accuracy is reduced, despite being more responsive.
Pass Receiver - improved pass receiver selection, especially for Ground and Through passes.
Crosses - adjusted Crosses to lead more in front of the target, along with increased accuracy when in easy contexts.
Ground Passes - regular Ground passes will now have a straighter trajectory with less contextual curve.
Teammates will now maintain their position to receive ground passes.
Lob Passes - Lob passes will have more driven trajectories when the path is unobstructed.
Goalkeeper Throws - improved throw targets from the goalkeeper.
Clearances - adjusted Clearance logic to make them more responsive.

Shooting

Similar to passing, changes were made to make shooting more responsive. On top of that, the low-driven shot is now a global shooting mechanic, and is replacing time finishing, which has been completely removed from the game. A massive change was also made to trivela shots, as from now on, only players with a GameChanger PlayStyle can perform a trivela shot.

Here are all the shooting changes made in FC 26:

Close-range Shots - shots near the net will use more reactive animations with minimal wind-up.
Shooting Angles - rebalanced animation restrictions to enable shooting to cover a broader range of angles.
GameChanger PlayStyle - Trivela Shots can only be performed by players with this PlayStyle or PlayStyle+
If a player doesn’t have the Gamechanger Playstyle or PlayStyle+, attempting a Trivela Shot will default to a lace shot instead.

Physicality

As mentioned further above, the ability to shield the ball has been improved. Shielding the ball is now more consistent, dribble shielding is more responsive, new shielding animations have been added, and a new mechanic, called contested box outs, has been introduced. Shielding is much more useful as a all, and physicality will also play a bigger role in FC 26 games.

Here are all the physicality changes made in FC 26:

Shield Trapping - our objective was to give players a new tool when trapping the ball and wanting to stand their ground instead of immediately moving.
Improved positioning when receiving the ball and Shielding Hold L2 || Hold LT.
Increased Strength-based differentiation when Shield trapping.
Prioritized getting in the way of incoming opponents instead of getting the perfect touch on the ball.
Rebalanced and improved outcomes of several scenarios and timings when starting to Shield before and after receiving the ball.
New Shielding trap animations, to increase shielding coverage and effectiveness
Shield Dribbling - Dribble shielding has been fully reworked to make it more consistent and better at respecting your input.
Improved consistency of player positioning relative to the ball when Shielding.
Improved transition from Shielding to Sprint.
Re-tuned how long you can Shield depending on how much short-term fatigue you have.
New Shielding movement animations.
Dribbling Shoulder Challenges - new type of Shielding action that allows you to better protect the ball while dribbling.
Physics - improved physics effects for both the shielder and the shieldee, to accentuate the physicality of the action.
New Animations - multiple new animations added for Step-ins, Seal Outs, and Shield Turns.
Enforcer PlayStyle - new animations added for players with the new Enforcer PlayStyle and PlayStyle+.
Contested Box Outs - Allows players to use Shield when in front of their opponent, triggering a strong physical action that provides more space to either trap the ball or set up for a header.

Attacking and Defensive Positioning

FC 26 made a few changes to make attacking more fluid, while also having defenses be more structured and smarter. Positioning was improved on both sides of the field, with attacking players making more and smarter runs, while defenders are better at responding to those runs.

Here are the changes made to attacking and defensive positioning:

Player Support - reevaluated the positioning logic to provide better supporting options for the ball carrier, trying to always have someone available as a passing option.
Attacking Runs - made several changes to the attacking runs logic:
Increased the number of attacking runs by players, to lower reliance on triggered runs.
Attacking runs more consistently run into open space.
All players will be more likely to make the best attacking run options instead of strictly following what their player Role dictates.
Ex. a Winger can cut into the box if the opportunity arises, where before they would wait out wide.
Ex: a Wingback can move forward if there is open space in front of them.
Balanced Build Up - teams will have a more balanced approach, giving you run options as well as close-support options.
Offside Runs - improved attacker’s ability to stay onside, and the speed in which they come back when offside.
Player marking - adjusted positioning of defenders to now man mark opponents when close and inside the box.
Defensive Line Height - the defensive line will not automatically push up as far when trying to keep players offside.

Controlling the Ball and First Touches

Yet another feature where the changes aim to make it more responsive, while providing users with more control over players and their actions.

Here are the changes made to ball control and first touches in FC 26:

First Touch Responsiveness - significantly improved responsiveness of first touch ball control to seamlessly transition into dribbling right after contact with the ball.
Ball Control - refined players’ ability to control the ball after a pass or interception to maintain possession.
Factors influencing the difficulty of a first touch include ball speed relative to the player's speed, ball height, requested exit fangle, opponent pressure, the part of the body used for the touch, the extent of stretching, and player attributes such as Ball Control, Interceptions, and Composure.
First Touch Precision - when receiving or intercepting a pass, holding L2 || LT will greatly improve the players ability to control the ball at the trade-off of player’s move speed.
Earlier timing of this input will result in increased control.
Flick Ups - improved flicking actions when receiving an aerial ball in all directions to be more consistent and predictable.
Consecutive Flick Ups will progressively become less effective to prevent exploits.
Loose and Contested Balls Player Urgency - new ability to increase players' urgency when attempting to reach a loose ball or contested ball by pressing Sprint R2 || RT.
Holding Sprint prompts immediate acceleration toward the contact point. Without the Sprint input, the response might be less immediate, highlighting the importance of your reaction time in critical moments.

These are all the gameplay changes coming in FC 26 that promise to make it one of the best titles in franchise history. Whether they will accomplish that or not, only time will tell.

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