EA Sports FC 26 Title Update v1.4.0 will be released in the coming days and targets AI defending alongside a suite of gameplay and mode fixes.
The headline change slows AI defenders’ reaction times when marking the ball carrier, which should open up space during transitions and make attacks feel less crowded. The patch also adjusts Squad Battles CPU behavior, Acceleration Types thresholds, last-ditch clearances from defenders on the goal line, shoulder challenge outcomes tied to Strength and Aggression, and several Ultimate Team and Career Mode improvements. For continuity on how roster and gameplay patches have been handled before, see our FC 25 patch coverage.
Patch Notes
FC 26 Title Update v1.4.0
Happy New Year FC Community!
Title Update v1.4.0 for EA SPORTS FC™ 26 will be released in the coming days, including a change to AI Defending.
AI Defending
We are making a change that will reduce the reaction times of AI defenders when marking the ball carrier, increasing the chance of them leaving more open space while transitioning between actions. This change can help your attacks feel more free-flowing. We will continue to monitor your feedback on AI Defending and look to make more adjustments if needed.
Gameplay
We are making changes to improve responsiveness and address frustration across several areas of play.
- CPU AI behavior in Squad Battles has been adjusted.
We heard your feedback that the recent tuning made the sequences feel overly passive and there were long periods of low-pressure possession from the CPU AI. The CPU will now take a more proactive and attacking approach to create a smoother Squad Battles experience. The CPU AI will not focus on maintaining possession as much as before. - Updated Acceleration Types height values.
This change refines the minimum and maximum height thresholds used to determine run types for players. You can expect more players to have the Lengthy run type with this change.As part of this, the minimum Lengthy height requirement for men’s players will be 185 cm, and 165 for women’s players. Other Lengthy requirements will not be changing and will remain at:
– Strength minimum 65
– (Strength – Agility) >= 4
– Acceleration minimum 40 - Defenders positioned on the goal line can now make automatic clearances in appropriate situations to improve defensive reliability. This is only for last-ditch situations where a defender is already in position to block a certain goal, at a speed that the user might not be able to react to.
- Shoulder challenges between players with a large Strength Attribute difference will more often result in the player with the lower Strength Attribute stumbling. Also, players with higher Strength and Aggression Attributes can generally be better at shielding the ball.
- We have further reduced the accuracy of Acrobatic shots, such as bicycle kicks, taken right after a flick.
You can also check out additional gameplay updates in the full Patch Notes.
Football Ultimate Team
We’ve addressed several issues as well as made improvements to the navigation within Ultimate Team.
- We are adding a New Release hub, a new destination in Ultimate Team which will act as your go-to place to learn about the latest campaigns. You can access this via a new menu tab or through the News tile to see highlighted content and navigate to the latest SBCs, Objectives and more. This menu tab is intended to go live in a server release a few weeks after Title Update 1.4.0.
Addressed the following issues:
- Sometimes a trophy would be displayed in the corner of a pitch.
- Sometimes after previewing an Evolution consumable item in an Item Pick and returning to the selection screen, the highlighted item would default to the last item previously selected.
- Addressed cases of a specific UI flow that resulted in the radial menu appearing unintentionally.
Career Mode
We’ve made changes to Career Mode including the following:
- Expanded Player Status Information by providing separate Contract and General fields, containing info on a player’s willingness to negotiate and their potential.
- Certain Archetype options are now ineligible based on the selected Origin Story in Player Career.
- Replaced Starting Skill Level with Starting AP in Player Career, displaying the amount of AP the player is eligible for based on their chosen Origin Story.
- Adjusted Manager Career Job Security logic for situations when managers reach an Insecure job security status.
- Contract durations have been extended up to 3 years for ICONs and Heroes.
You can check out the full Career Mode changes and all the issues addressed in the full Patch Notes.
Clubs
We’ve addressed the following issues in Clubs:
- Addressed cases where incorrect Acceleration Types could have been set by the user.
- In some cases, the Team Management screen did not display correct Acceleration Types, this was a visual issue only.
PC
We’ve addressed the following issues on the PC version of FC 26:
- Refresh rate could’ve unintentionally changed to 60Hz at times.
- Addressed some specific cases of framerate issues occurring in the second half of matches.
Thanks for checking out the Title Update v1.4.0 Pitch Notes, remember you can leave your feedback over at the Player Feedback Portal, or jump into the EA SPORTS FC Discord server.
– The EA SPORTS FC Team
The Club is Yours in EA SPORTS FC™ 26, available now on PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch™, Nintendo Switch™ 2, PC, Amazon Luna as well as through EA Play.
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EA Sports FC 26
Developed by EA Vancouver
The Club is Yours in EA SPORTS FC 26. Play your way with an overhauled gameplay experience powered by community feedback, Manager Live Challenges that bring fresh storylines to the new season, and Archetypes inspired by greats of the game.
- Genre: Simulator, Sport
- Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch 2, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
- Modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
- Release: 2025-09-26
- Publisher: EA Sports
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Age Rating:
ESRB E / PEGI 3 / CERO A / GRAC ALL / USK 12 / CLASS_IND L / ACB M
- IGDB Rating: 58.8/100
