Top New Features Coming to FC 26 Ultimate Team

EA SPORTS FC 26 is set to launch worldwide on September 26, 2025, with early access beginning September 19 for those who pre-order or subscribe to EA Play. This year, Ultimate Team (FUT) is undergoing its biggest evolution yet, featuring major changes inspired by community feedback to deliver a more dynamic and rewarding experience. From revamped chemistry systems to enhanced customization and new competitive modes, EA SPORTS is pushing the franchise forward like never before. Here’s everything you need to know about the new features in FC 26 Ultimate Team.

As always, EA FC Coins remain the cornerstone of your Ultimate Team experience. Managing your FUT Coins wisely will be key to progressing and taking full advantage of all the new modes and features in FUT 26.

Top 7 New Features Coming to FC 26 Ultimate Team

• Competitive Gameplay
• Live Events
• Tournaments
• Gauntlets
• Rivals & Champs Revamp
• Challengers
• Evolutions Updates

Competitive Gameplay 

For the first time in EA SPORTS FC 26, FUT introduces Competitive Gameplay, a dedicated tuning set built exclusively for competitive modes. This system is designed to give you more control, greater consistency, and faster responsiveness, delivering the experience players have been asking for.

Here’s what you can expect:

• Fewer Rebound Goals: Reduced randomness with cleaner tackles and fewer loose-ball rebounds falling to the opponent.
• Smarter Stamina Management: Players maintain agility for longer, rewarding active defending and intelligent switching.
• Instant One-Touch Actions : Passing and shooting feel sharper than ever, now triggerable as little as one frame before first touch.

Competitive Gameplay focuses on responsiveness, consistency, and control—core pillars that make every match feel fair and competitive.

Live Events

FC 26 Live Events introduce a brand-new competitive pillar that replaces traditional Friendlies, designed to bring variety and strategy to FUT. Each event comes with custom entry requirements such as completing specific Objectives, achieving a certain Division rank, or meeting chemistry and squad rules. You’ll also experience custom match rules like Mystery Ball, No Rules, and other House Rules variations that make every match feel unique. Progression is now easier than ever with Objective Linking, allowing you to track and claim rewards directly within the event without bouncing through multiple menus. Everything is centralized in the new Event Hub, giving you a streamlined way to view event details, requirements, and rewards—all in one place.

Tournaments Are Back

Tournaments  in FC 26, bringing the classic knockout format that fans have been asking for. Unlike weekly events, these tournaments will appear at key moments throughout the season, making them feel truly special and rewarding. Each tournament will feature custom entry requirements, adding a layer of strategy to squad building, and will offer unique rewards that you can’t earn anywhere else. Whether you’re chasing rare packs, exclusive player items, or bragging rights, these tournaments are designed to deliver high-stakes, high-reward competition.

Gauntlets Brand-new mode

Gauntlets introduce an exciting new way to play, offering a brand-new competitive mode that pushes your squad-building skills to the limit. In this format, you’ll compete in multiple matches, but with a twist—each game requires a different squad, forcing you to think creatively and adapt quickly. The first major event, the Ultimate Gauntlet, will drop every two weeks, giving players a recurring challenge with high-stakes rewards. It’s all about depth, strategy, and proving you can dominate under any conditions.

Rivals & Champs Revamp

It brings major changes to the competitive experience, streamlining progression and adding fresh challenges. Playoffs have been removed, meaning players now enjoy direct qualification for Champions through Rivals. A new feature, Bounties, introduces random in-match objectives like scoring the first goal, offering extra rewards and variety to every game. Duels take this even further by matching players with competing bounties, creating unique head-to-head scenarios. To keep progression fair and enjoyable, limited checkpoints ensure players don’t get stuck in divisions for too long, maintaining momentum and competitiveness throughout the season.

Challengers

Challengers is a brand-new tier designed for players outside the top divisions. It introduces its own format and reward structure, giving more players a chance to experience the thrill of high-stakes competition. While it opens the door to a wider audience, Champions remains the pinnacle of competitive play, ensuring the ultimate challenge stays at the top.

Evolutions Updates

Exciting changes are coming to Evolutions in FUT 26! For the first time, you’ll be able to evolve Goalkeepers in Ultimate Team, unlocking both attribute boosts and cosmetic upgrades. Plus, like SBCs, some Evolutions will now be repeatable a limited number of times, giving you the freedom to upgrade multiple players with the same Evolution—or even evolve a single player multiple times if they qualify. Another big improvement tackles a major issue from FC 25: losing your current cosmetics when applying a new Evolution. In FC 26, cosmetic upgrades will be separated by type, allowing different types of cosmetic effects to stack unless the Evolution changes that specific type. This means you can now create the perfect look for your player item by combining multiple cosmetic effects seamlessly in-game.