No License? Will We Still See the World Cup in EA FC 26 This Year?
With the FIFA World Cup fast approaching, perhaps we can also experience the vibrant atmosphere of a real match in FC 26! Yes, FC 26 recently released a brand new World's Game update, let's take a look!
On June 4th, EA Sports released a World Cup update for FC26. As is well known, EA and FIFA parted ways back in 2022, so this update regarding 2026 FIFA World Cup in the game was unauthorized and based solely on the studio's own understanding of the competition. Let's take a look at the updates.
International Tournament Mode
A new international tournament mode has been added to the game, which is also available in Career Mode. This mode uses the same rules as other modes, and players can set their starting point in real-time before and during the tournament.
The game now features 53 teams from various countries, including 41 teams from this year's FIFA World Cup. Many of these national teams have obtained full licenses, such as Brazil, France, England, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Argentina, the United States, Morocco, Mexico, and Uzbekistan.
The tournament format is identical to the upgraded 2026 FIFA World Cup - divided into 12 groups of four teams each, playing five rounds of knockout matches to determine the champion.
In addition, new stadiums have been added to the game, such as Gillette Stadium, BMO Field, and some FIFA World Cup match venues, allowing players to experience the top-tier atmosphere of the real World Cup.
Ultimate Team brings a wealth of new content, with changes to the evolution mechanism, the addition of tokens, a dedicated Event Hub, new PlayStyles, a Festival of Football -themed event, and player items, among others.
Tokens
Tokens are the most significant structural change in this update. As a new reward currency, it will become almost the only reward currency type in FUT 26 after the June 4th update. This is reportedly to unify the reward mechanism, allowing players to accumulate rewards across different modes.
There is a weekly cap on the number of tokens earned - 1000, with a total cap of 5000 throughout the entire Festival of Football. Tokens can be spent in a dedicated shop containing players, card packs, and evolutions. However, please note that tokens can only be obtained through gameplay and cannot be acquired from shop packs. Therefore, this means skilled players no longer need to rely on luck to acquire items, which is a good thing.
In Champions matches, players achieving higher win counts will receive not only token rewards but also an additional FC 26 coins, making it worthwhile to strive for better results.
PlayStyles
This update also includes changes to two PlayStyles that were frequently raised in the community - Bruiser and Bruiser+. The Bruiser's shoulder charge effect was considered too aggressive, and this update has weakened this effect. However, if the opponent's style is Enforcer or Enforcer+, the shoulder charge effect will still be slightly improved accordingly.
Furthermore, the physics of shoulder charges have been reworked. Now, the differences in strength and style between players are better reflected in the direction and force of the charge. Intercept has also been adjusted; players with an interception attribute of 90 or higher can now have the same exclusive animations as players with the Intercept Playstyle set.
Club System
The club system has also undergone a series of updates:
- The number of customizable PlayStyles per player has increased from 8 to 9.
- The maximum Archetype level has increased from 90 to 95.
- The number of Signature PlayStyles has increased from 3 to 4, and the fourth Signature PlayStyle can be upgraded to PS+ at level 95.
- The range of player Archetype attributes has been expanded.
Festival of Football: Journey of Nations
Festival of Football: Journey of Nations requires players to assemble international teams from different continents each week, completing over 250 challenges to earn rewards. To facilitate the assembly of international teams, this update also adds over 100 new players, including two legends: Riverlino and Mario Kempes.
Evo Undo
This FIFA 26 update also brings a super user-friendly new feature - Evo Undo - which allows players to undo any changes made to their club. For example, if a player believes that a player's evolution is meaningless or wants to revert them to their initial state for a trade, they can use this feature to reset.
Combined with PlayStyles Lab, players will have a better grasp of their players' ultimate PlayStyles.
EA's stated goal is to eliminate player anxiety about evolving equipment. The system is now much more flexible than when it was first launched.
Penalty Shootouts
FUT also brings limited-time Penalty Shootouts, a mode that also applies to Kick-Off and Ultimate Team. Penalty kicks can directly determine the outcome of a match to a certain extent, and there are many tricks involved.
In addition, players who log in during Ultimate Team will receive a 93-rated Pele card and three Choose Your Journey Evolutions cards related to his 1970 international achievements.
These are some of the updates for FC26 World Cup. Quickly choose your favorite players, create suitable playstyles for them, earn tokens in Journey of Nations, and redeem rewards!