EA has released a new trailer for its upcoming football game EA Sports FC 26, this time around offering a gameplay deep dive. The trailer, which you can check out below, primarily revolves around EA Sports taking feedback from the previous iterations of the football franchise into account. The biggest form this feedback took was in three words: “make gameplay better”.
Gameplay producer Paul Parsons explains quite a few features of EA Sports FC 26 in the trailer, and how the “make gameplay better” mantra was one of the core things that defined the development of the title.
“Those three words summarize our full focus this year,” said Parsons in the trailer. “An overhauled gameplay experience that’s responsive, rewarding, and powered by your feedback.”
Improvements to the overall gameplay of the EA Sports FC series took the form of several different things that the developers have done. This includes featuring two gameplay presets—the more responsive competitive gameplay mode made specially for online modes, and the more realistically-tuned authentic gameplay mode, meant for offline modes. Gameplay fundamentals have also seen refinements for various aspects, including tackling, saves, pace, passing, shooting and physicality, among others.
The competitive gameplay mode was designed specially for online game modes like Football Ultimate Team and Clubs. The gameplay mode revolves around fast-paced gameplay that rewards player aggression, skills, and timing. The mode has been described by Parsons as being more responsive overall when compared to the other mode, with, for example, passing feeling quicker.
The authentic gameplay mode, instead, was designed to be used for Manager Career and Player Career modes. The gameplay mode aims to emulate how the sport is played in the real world by offering more simulation-centric features like more realistic physics and animations in order to capture the same pace as a typical match would have in the real world.
The third major addition to the series in the upcoming EA Sports FC 26 will be new features and updates inspired by community feedback. This includes PlayStyles, Player Roles, and even a new accessibility feature in the form of a High Contrast Mode.
When it comes to gameplay fundamentals, some of the changes that have been made to the game apply to both authentic and competitive game modes. For an example of these refinements, goalkeepers have been made much smarter than they previously were. The studio made use of machine learning to train the in-game goalkeeper AI to allow them to find the best positions and ways to deflect incoming goals.
Dribbling and passing have also gotten upgraded to feel more responsive. While these moves will feel different between the two gameplay modes, they will ultimately still feel more reactive and dynamic when compared to the previous EA Sports FC release. Physicality has also seen some upgrades, giving players more options to shield the ball in their possession when they’re being pressured by the opposing team.
EA Sports FC 26 is coming to PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and the Switch 2 on September 26.
