EA SPORTS FC 26 Kept Crashing After the Update—Here’s What Finally Fixed It

There’s nothing more frustrating than downloading the latest EA SPORTS FC 26 update, launching the game expecting to jump into Ultimate Team or Career Mode, and then – it crashes before you can even start playing.

That’s exactly what happened to me. The game had been working perfectly before the update. But after installing the latest patch, it kept crashing either during startup or shortly after loading into the menus.

The first thing that worked for me was creating a brand-new squad using the FC Web App instead of loading my old squad. I also removed my older saved squads, waited a few minutes, and relaunched the game. Surprisingly, the crashes stopped. If those fixes don’t solve the problem for you, don’t worry.

In this guide, I’ll explain the most common reasons why EA SPORTS FC 26 starts crashing after an update, followed by every effective solution you can try to get back into the game.

Why Does EA SPORTS FC 26 Crash After an Update?

Although every update fixes bugs and adds new content, it can sometimes introduce new compatibility issues. Some of the most common reasons include:

• Corrupted Ultimate Team squad data
• Old squad files conflicting with the latest update
• Damaged or missing game files
• An incomplete game update
• Outdated graphics drivers
• Corrupted console cache
• Conflicts with external devices
• Running the game on an integrated GPU instead of the dedicated graphics card
• Temporary software glitches after installing the update

How to Fix EA SPORTS FC 26 Crashing After the Latest Update

Now that you know what might be causing the crashes, it’s time to fix them.

We’ll begin with the solutions that have worked for the largest number of players, especially after the latest update. Start with the first method and test the game before moving on to the next one. In many cases, you won’t need to try every fix—one of the earlier solutions is often enough to get FC 26 running normally again.

Let’s go through them step by step.

Create a New Squad Using the FC Web App

When your EA SPORTS FC 26 is crashing after the new update, you can use the FC web app and create a new squad. For this, go to the FC web page and log in to the FC web app.

• Ensure the game is still closed, then click the login option on the FC web app.
• On the left-hand side of the FC web app, click on Squads.
• Click on Create and name your new squad as desired.
• Go back to Squad Management, then select the new squad.
• Then click on Set Active to make it your active squad. You can also update the Squad.

Remove the Old Squads

The next step you can do is delete the old sqads.

• Navigate to the squad management section. Then select the old squads and click Clear Squad.

• Confirm that you want to delete the old squads. After deleting the old squads, log out of the FC web app.
• For this, go to the bottom left side and click on Settings.
• Click on the Sign Out to log out of the FC web app.
• Allow another 15 to 20 minutes before launching the game again.
• Open the game and check if the issue is resolved.

Update The Game

When you start a game or app, it automatically updates to the newest version available. But you can check for the game updates following these steps.

• Highlight the FC26 thumbnail in your games home screen and press the Options button.
• Select Check for Update.
• If an update is available, install the update following the onscreen instructions.

Restart the Game

If FC26 is crashing after updating the game, restart the game. If you are playing the game on a controller, press the PS button on the controller.

This should lead to the PlayStation Home screen. The game’s icon should now be highlighted but not chosen.

Press the Options button on your Controller. Choose Close Application next, select OK.

Close the EA FC26 game on your PC, PS5, or Xbox console. If you are playing the game on a PC then close the game and then restart your PC.

Power Cycle the Gaming Console

Next, you can power cycle the console and then relaunch the game. Sometimes the cache data may get corrupted and result in PS console errors.

• So, power cycle the console to get rid of the cache.
• To do that, hold the Power button of the console for a few seconds till it completely turns off.
• Once the consoler is off, release the power button and unplug it from the main power source.
• Wait for a minute, then plug it back in and restart the console.

Verify The Integrity Of The Game Files

Missing or corrupted game files can also cause issues like this.

So, verify the game files.

Here is how you can verify the integrity of the game files from Steam.

• Head to the Steam Library. Right-click on the game and open its Properties. Go to the Installed Files tab and click on the Verify the Integrity of the Game files option.

• Wait till Steam verifies the game files and download the missing file or fix the corrupted game files. Once done, launch the game and check.

Unplug External Devices

Disconnect any external devices connected to your console or computer. These devices can also cause interference and trigger errors. Once you disconnect the devices, you can reconnect them one by one then, launch the game and check each time to find out which device is causing the error.

Update The Graphics Drivers

The next thing you should do is troubleshoot your graphics drivers. Right-click on the Windows Search button and choose Device Manager.

• Go to the Display Adapters section and then expand it. Right-click on your Graphics driver.
• Select the Update Driver option.

• Click on the Search Automatically for Drivers option and follow the instructions provided on-screen to download and install the latest driver.
• If updating graphics drivers does not work, you can reinstall them. Expand the Display Adapters section and right-click on your Graphics driver.
• Click on the Uninstall device option and follow the onscreen instructions to complete the process.

• After installation of the drivers, install them again.
• For the AMD graphics driver, install the Radeon app. Then run it. Similarly, for NVIDIA graphics drivers, install and run the GeForce Experience.
• You should visit the official websites of your Graphics Card manufacturer to update your graphics card drivers. These websites are https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/drivers/) + (https://www.amd.com/en/support
• Download the latest drivers for the graphics card installed on your computer from these websites. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the driver installation process.
• Once done, restart your PC. Then re-run the app and check for any updates. If any updates are available, download and install them. Once done, go to the next step.

Run The Game on a Dedicated Graphics Card

If you have multiple GPUs for your system, then make sure to use the one for gaming as this can tackle the graphics-intensive tasks well.

So, using the dedicated GPU for gaming can avoid issues while playing FC 26.

There are different ways to check if you’re running the dedicated graphics card, depending on your operating system and the specific card you have.

You can follow the method shown here.

• Open Device Manager. Expand Display adapters.
• You should see two adapters listed here – one for your dedicated graphics card and one for your integrated graphics card.
• The dedicated graphics card will have a longer and more specific name than the integrated one.
• The dedicated graphics card may also have a higher memory size listed. So, make sure to run the game with a higher memory size to avoid loading or crashing issues.

Reinstall FC26

If the methods shown could not fix the issue, then reinstall FC26. To do so, press Windows + I to open Settings.

Open Apps and then head to Installed Apps. Click on the three-dot menu next to the game. Click on the Uninstall button. Follow as shown to uninstall the game.

Once the Uninstallation of the game completes, restart your PC. Once your PC restarts reinstall the game to some other drive or SSD. Now launch the game and check.

Contact Support Team

If the methods shown in this video could not fix the issue, then you can reach out to EA support for help.

You can get in touch with live support through the official EA help site, or you can reach out via X, formerly Twitter or Facebook for help as well if you prefer. All the links are provided in the description so you can use them.

Wrapping Up

Most EA SPORTS FC 26 crashes after a new update are caused by corrupted squad data, damaged game files, outdated drivers, or temporary conflicts introduced by the latest patch.

Start with the simplest fixes—creating a new squad and removing old squads through the FC Web App—as these have resolved the issue for many players. If the problem persists, work through the remaining methods one by one, including verifying game files, updating graphics drivers, power cycling your console, and reinstalling the game if necessary.

Hopefully, one of these solutions gets you back on the pitch without any more crashes. For any further queries, ask us in the comments section provided below and we shall revert with answers.