FC 26 GamePlay Deep Dive

FUTBIN

22-Jul-25 18:28

The FC 26 Gameplay Deep Dive has just dropped with a huge focus on improving our experince in game in 26! The main goal this year has been to improve foundational gameplay mechanics, including Dribbling, Pace, Passing, Tackling, Shooting, Goalkeepers, and Physicality.

Check out our break down here!

There’s two gameplay styles in fc 26, competitve and authentic. Authentic is a gameplay dediated to Career Mode, aiming to replicate the speed and variety of in real life matches. Competitive Gameplay is tuned for added responsiveness and higher player control, mainly focused on online modes like Ultimate Team and Clubs.

All of the improvements to fundamentals mentioned below apply across both Competitive and Authentic gameplay.

Dribbling and Movement - make players more agile and responsive on and off the ball.
Goalkeepers - make them more consistent and intelligent.
Defending - reduce the quantity of balls that bounce back to the opponent.
Passing and Shooting - make it more responsive and improve available options.
Attacking and Defensive Positioning - make better runs and provide more support.
Physicality - make it more reliable to protect and shield the ball.
First Touches and Controlling the Ball - improve the control of trapping the ball.
Online and General Gameplay Responsiveness - make the game more consistently responsive for both Online and Offline.

Accelerate Types

For FC 26 Accelerate Types will be reduced back down to the three we used to have. Explosive, Lengthy and Controlled.

Goalkeepers

We ask for it every year, but we’re seeing some major changes with goalkeepers.

In FC 26, goalkeepers received several improvements, such as how they handle deflections, how they position themselves, and even their decision making, all with the goal of reducing frustration while staying authentic to football.

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.

These are the main differences in Competitive Gameplay, which will impact you as an Ultimate Team Player:

All GK deflections try to get away from danger, reducing rebound goals
Reduced tackles/blocks/interceptions bouncing back to your opponent
Less AI defending, resulting in looser defensive lines
Fewer auto tackles and auto blocks
Redesigned Fatigue feature
More responsive and smoother transitions in and out of specific animations
Increased passing speed and responsiveness
Tighter control and more speed while dribbling, and skill moves are faster
Increased variability on crosses, to favour player skill over repetitive wide play
Increased heading error relative to Authentic
Increase variability in Corner Kicks outcomes, with fewer attacking players involved by default
Less authentic visuals when avoiding a ball, to resolve these situations more effectively
Players get up quickly after being tackled to the ground
Players show no reaction animations when hit by a fast incoming ball