# EA SPORTS FC 26 EA SPORTS FC™ 27 | Closed Beta Feedback Update

- Product: EA SPORTS FC 26 (https://whatsnew.fyi/product/ea-sports-fc-26)
- Vendor: EA Canada
- Date: 2026-09-03
- Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/3405690/view/685264090267910820
- Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/ea-sports-fc-26/releases/2026-09-03-ea-sports-fc-27-closed-beta-feedback-update
- Labels: Platforms: Windows, Console

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- **changed** — Do not plan on making significant gameplay balance changes in early Title Updates after launch
- **changed** — Shoulder Challenges are now most effective when the defender gets side-by-side with the ball carrier rather than from behind
- **fixed** — Repeatedly pressing Shoulder Challenge in quick succession now causes the defender to stick out an arm and lose speed
- **changed** — Slightly reduced the additional benefit provided by Bruiser+
- **changed** — Team Press now has no effect while the ball is in your defensive third
- **changed** — When Team Press is used further up the pitch, defenders are now less effective at applying pressure than midfielders and forwards
- **changed** — Adjusted defensive line positioning so that lower Defensive Depth settings are more clearly reflected with defenders retreating sooner and maintaining a more conservative position
- **changed** — Triggered Runs now have a limited distance and require another input to continue player movement
- **changed** — Slightly reduced the impact of AcceleRATE profiles on running performance, bringing Explosive, Controlled, and Lengthy players closer together

During the EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Closed Beta, we heard your feedback across the game through the EA Closed Beta Forums, the FC 27 Closed Beta Player Feedback Portal, and Discord. We’ve been reviewing that feedback to better understand your experience and the topics that mattered most to you.

In this Pitch Notes, we’ll cover improvements driven by your feedback across areas including physical play, Team Press, Lengthy players, and more. We’ll also provide more context on some of the topics you’ve raised and share our approach to gameplay updates during the launch period.

##### Early Gameplay Title Update Strategy

We’ve been closely following player conversations and know there’s feedback about significant gameplay balance changes being made after launch. For EA SPORTS FC™ 27, we want to take a measured approach and do not plan on making significant gameplay balance changes in our early Title Updates.

How the game is played and understood can evolve quickly during the opening weeks as players learn new mechanics, discover different ways to play, and build squads. Because of that, we don’t want to react quickly to early trends with significant balance changes. Instead, we’ll give the gameplay experience time to settle so we can better understand how the game develops and whether adjustments are needed.

Our intention is to preserve the gameplay experience we’ve built for launch and give players time to learn and adapt to it. We’ll continue listening closely to your feedback throughout that period, which you can share through the[ FC Feedback Hub](https://www.ea.com/en/games/ea-sports-fc/fc-27/features/fc-27-feedback).

We’ll still look to address bugs, unintended behaviours, and other issues that are significantly impacting the gameplay experience. In some cases, addressing these issues may have an impact on the balance of related gameplay systems. For example, addressing an unintended Goalkeeper behaviour could affect the balance between shooting and Goalkeeping more broadly. When fixes like these are needed, we’ll aim to make them as targeted as possible to address the specific issue while limiting their impact on the wider gameplay experience.

##### Bruiser & Shoulder Challenge Improvements

Physical play and the Bruiser PlayStyle have been big topics coming out of the EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Closed Beta. We still want physical play to be a viable way to win the ball while defending, but we’ve made some changes to make Shoulder Challenges more consistent and address some unintended ways they could’ve been used.

Shoulder Challenges should be most effective when the defender gets side-by-side with the ball carrier rather than attempting a challenge from behind.

One behaviour we wanted to address was repeatedly pressing Shoulder Challenge while chasing an opponent until a challenge eventually triggered. Now, repeatedly pressing Shoulder Challenge in quick succession will cause the defender to stick out an arm and lose speed, making it more difficult to chase down an opponent by repeatedly using the input.

When you get into the right position and time the challenge properly, physical defending remains effective. Strength continues to play an important role, with the Bruiser PlayStyle providing an additional benefit. We’ve also slightly reduced the additional benefit provided by Bruiser+.

##### Team Press & Defensive Depth

Team Press is intended to be a way to apply pressure higher up the pitch, but we found it was also too effective when used close to your own goal. In those situations, AI teammates could automatically close down opponents and take too much of the defensive responsibility away from the user.

To address this, Team Press will now have no effect while the ball is in your defensive third. This directly addresses one of the most common ways Team Press could be used to automatically pressure attackers close to goal, requiring the defending player to take more responsibility for applying pressure in these situations.

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