EA has officially announced the newest iteration of its ongoing football series, EA Sports FC 26. The title is slated for release on September 26, and will be coming to PC (via Steam and Epic Games Store), PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and the Switch 2. Check out the official reveal trailer below.
As we had previously confirmed, Zlatan Ibrahimovic will serve as the cover athlete for the Ultimate Edition of EA Sports FC 26. The standard edition, on the other hand, will feature Jude Bellingham and Jamal Musiala.
The reveal trailer pokes fun at the fact that EA has a history of only showing pre-rendered cinematics when it unveils titles in the franchise. This time around, the trailer features actual gameplay, albeit with the warning that some of the camera angles shown will not be available in the course of actually playing the game. However, we do end up getting a good look at what EA Sports FC 26 will end up looking like.
We get to look at some quick flashes of matches happening between various teams from different leagues, be it Juventus vs Atletico de Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain vs Juventus, Manchester City vs Liverpool or Chelsea vs Spurs.
When it comes to improvements to the core gameplay over its predecessors, the trailer reveals quite a few, including cleaner and more controlled interceptions, more consistent outcomes, and cleaner standing tackles. All of these improvements come together to allow players to feel rewarded for getting the timing on their moves right.
The title will also feature two different types of gameplay experiences: competitive gameplay and authentic gameplay. While competitive gameplay will focus on fast-paced matches that are ideal for offering up a sense of competition between the two teams, authentic gameplay will instead focus on having a more realistic take on the sport.
As the company itself explains, where authentic gameplay is ideal for game modes like Career mode, the competitive gameplay mode is tailor-made to be played in Football Ultimate Team and Clubs modes.
All in all, EA Sports FC 26 will feature a host of game-wide changes across just about every single aspect of gameplay. Manager Career is also getting some upgrades through Manager Live, which has regularly-released scenarios throughout a new season that will be based on real happenings in the world of football.
EA Sports FC 26 is also introducing Archetypes to the franchise. Through the feature, players will find new classes in Clubs and Player Center, in turn bringing in more individuality for each of the players in a team. As players improve, Archetype Perks can be unlocked to give them more abilities and their own unique ways of taking on challenges on the pitch.
When it comes to authenticity, the title will include more than 20,000 athletes across 750 different clubs and national teams, 120 different stadiums, and more than 35 different leagues. All in all, EA Sports FC 26 boasts a partnership with more than 300 different global football partners.
