- Primary Subject: EA Sports FC 27 (2026/27 Season)
- Key Update: The EA Sports FC 27 Gameplay Deep Dive has premiered, detailing significant nerfs to AI defending alongside major reworks to passing, set pieces, and PlayStyles.
- Status: Confirmed
- Last Verified: July 29, 2026
- Quick Answer: FC 27 gameplay focuses on higher skill gaps with nerfed AI defending, manual passing mechanics, two-step corners, off-balance dribbling, and rebalanced PlayStyles.
The FC 27 Gameplay Deep Dive has premiered, revealing all of the changes coming in this year's entry and explaining how they will impact the gameplay experience.
Plenty of new gameplay features and improvements were introduced in FC 27, with changes to AI defending, passing, corners, and much more.
Without further ado, let's find out everything about the FC 27 gameplay.
Less AI Defending and More Manual Skill
Whenever a new EA FC title is about to launch, AI Defending takes the spotlight. The feature has undergone constant changes throughout the years, and it will be no different in FC 27.
AI Defending has been significantly tuned down, especially auto-tackles, as AI defenders no longer automatically attempt a tackle if the opponent is close enough.
Now, AI defenders wait for users to take control of them and choose when to go for the tackle. Auto-tackling is not dead, as AI defenders will still react to loose balls if they are close enough, but they rarely initiate tackles.
Jockey speed was increased to improve Manual defending, allowing users to keep up with fast attacking movements in a more efficient way.
The range for manual standle tackles was increased, rewarding players who make the right reads and adding a bigger skill gap mechanic to the feature.
Still on the trend on weaking AI defending and strengthening manual defending, teammate contain was nerfed.
AI Defenders will now mark opponents from a larger distance, requiring players to take control of them to press the opponents or perform a tackle and regain possession.
A New Age of Set Pieces In EA FC
Two-step corner kicks have been introduced in FC 27.
Players control the placement and strength of the delivery in the first phase.
In phase two, they have to time their run in the box, attack the space, and make contact with the ball manually.
This gives players more creative options when it comes to corner kicks, and also adds a skill element to both performing and defending corner kicks.
A brand-new mechanic called Avoidance was also introduced. It allows a player, defender or attacker, to become more evasive, making it easier to move through crowded areas without getting blocked.
This mechanic can be performed in the window users have before the corner is delivered into the box, which lasts a few seconds.
But that's not all, as crosses as a whole were reworked. They are now delivered into space at a higher frequency instead of directly into the attacker's head.
Aim and power play a bigger factor in where the ball lands, and connecting with a header from crosses is harder, requiring great precision.
Clean headers are much rarer, but this makes them much more effective, as a well-connected clean header will be very difficult for goalkeepers to stop.
Smarter Attacking AI
Attackers are more aware of the space in FC 27, and they will make smarter runs into free space.
Runs into space now are also less predictable, as AI attackers will perform "contextual curved runs", providing better support to every attacking move users try.
These curved runs can be triggered by players, but they will take longer to complete, as the path players take is longer.
A new mechanic called Pass & Follow Runs has also been added. As the name indicates, when activated, the player who passes the ball will then perform a curved run into the open space.
The AI attacker will choose to overlap or cut inside depending on the options available to him.
Manual trigger runs are still in the game, but they no longer continue indefinitely. They now last for a limited distance, with the player stopping the run and getting back to their position once that distance is reached.
Passing Is More Manual Than Ever Before
Through passes are no longer heavily assisted in FC 27, as they now follow players' directional input.
This change rewards well-placed passes, while also giving manual defenders a better chance at reading and intercepting them.
Dinked passes are now also fully manual, both on the ground and through passes. Players need precise placement and the current amount of power to perform a successful dinked pass in FC 27.
It follows the same premise as the changes made to through passes: it offers more attacking creativity but also an increased chance for manual defenders to read and react to the pass.
Off-balance dribbling is one of the main gameplay additions of FC 27. Players who are hit by a bump or shoulder challenge and have the required attributes will enter an off-balance animation.
Here, players maintain control of the ball despite looking like they are stumbling, continuing to dribble in the chosen direction.
A Reworked PlayStyle System
Since their inception, PlayStyles feel too powerful, with attributes mattering little to nothing when it came to choosing between players.
So, EA Sports decided to rework PlayStyles in FC 27 to deliver the right balance between attributes and PlayStyles.
Plenty of PlayStyles were updated, such as Finesse Shot, Rapid, Intercept, and Pinged Pass, among many others.
The overall team is the same for all PlayStyles; make attributes play a bigger role in their specific actions, like shooting, dribbling, and passing.
This is everything you need to know about the FC 27 gameplay.
The changes and improvements look promising, as they often do. However, only time will tell if FC 27 will actually deliver a different gameplay experience, or if it's more of the same with just a new coat of paint.
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