EA Sports FC 26 Leak Delivers Discouraging Ultimate Team News

EA Sports FC 26 will launch later this year unless something drastic happens at Electronic Arts. And while EA has yet to officially reveal this year’s game, leaks have started to crop up all over the place, claiming to have information about what’s coming this year. The latest leak is particularly intriguing because it has to do with the “open-world” concept EA Sports said is coming to EA Sports FC and Madden over the next few years. Unfortunately, early reports appear to be tending negative.

This leak comes from the Twitter account FGZNews. Over the last year or so, FGZ has become a relatively reliable source for EA Sports FC leaks, though their track record is far from perfect. With that in mind, you’ll want to take the information below with a massive grain of salt until Electronic Arts says something officially.

FGZ’s latest leak says that the open world mode for FC 26 is currently in testing. However, early feedback “isn’t great so far,” according to the leaker. As with the normal game, this open world mode is running on the Frostbite engine, which has been maligned by the community since EA made the switch several years ago.

RELATED: EA Sports FC 26 Leak Reveals Disappointing Draft News

It’s worth noting that FGZ mentions several times in the original tweet and replies that testing is still “early days.” That said, at least one source calls the mode “limited.” Not exactly what you want to hear from what’s planned to be one of the standout features for the future of EA Sports FC.

With this leak in mind, it seems highly possible that the open world mode might not launch with FC 26. FGZ says as much in the replies, calling it “a big project” and saying that we might not see it until FC 27. EA could introduce it as a mid-year update with FC 26, but that’s all speculation at this point.

Thankfully, most of the other leaks coming out of EA Sports FC 26 are positive. FGZ recently claimed that players who leave games in FC 26 will be given a short matchmaking ban, which will hopefully stop players from jumping out of tied games to troll their opponents.

Another leak points to a new FUT Champs system. Now, there will be casual and competitive systems, giving more players a way to enjoy Ultimate Team’s premier mode. On top of that, you’ll no longer need to qualify through Champs Playoffs. After a brief experiment, Champs qualification will go back to Division Rivals.

Finally, we’ve learned that goalkeeper Evolutions are seemingly coming to FC 26. It’s always been weird that keepers were exempt from one of the most popular EA FC additions in the last few years. Now, they can join in on the fun, making keepers from low-ranked teams playable in Ultimate Team.

While we wait for FC 26 to be officially announced, there’s still plenty to do in FC 25. EA is in the middle of its annual Team of the Season promo in Ultimate Team, with the La Liga team dropping on May 23rd. That means high-rated cards for players like Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, and Lamine Yamal.