FC 26 Players

Guys, EA FC 26 hasn't been getting much positive feedback lately. But that's probably expected, since FC 26 development team is the one who actually did it; nobody is framing them.

For example, FC 26 recently decided to launch EA Advertising to better promote ads within the game. But the problem is, FC 26 is something players paid for.

Imagine you finally decide to unlock this long-awaited game, excitedly opening it to enjoy the football experience, only to find it's filled with constantly updated brand ads? How would you feel?

But for the past week, EA FC 26 players have been experiencing just that. EA Advertising launched on June 15th, boldly embedding dynamic ads into FC 26, and players are furious.

It's not like we've never seen ads before; the key issue is that we paid full price for the game, so why should we be sold to advertisers as traffic again? This has severely damaged the most basic trust players have in FC 26 development team.

What exactly is EA Advertising?

Actually, the advertising system in FIFA 26 is much more sophisticated than we imagined. It doesn't just pop up a video window for you to watch before you can continue, nor does it offer more FC 26 coins for watching an ad. Instead, it integrates ads seamlessly into the game environment.

For example, advertising boards near the stadium, next to the scoreboard, and even broadcast footage may contain brand information, appearing quite integrated.

And that's not all. Some ads even become in-game tasks. If a brand sponsors a challenge, FC 26 might release a dedicated Ultimate Team mission, rewarding you with completion. In short, it packages advertising as part of the game's content.

For this system, EA brought in a host of well-known brands like Visa and Red Bull as initial partners. Reportedly, the starting price for advertising is $100,000, with some reaching millions. After all, EA has over 120 million monthly active players - that's a huge revenue stream.

The Real Concerns

Why are these ads, which don't hinder gameplay and appear relatively smooth, causing so much anger among players? Actually, players' concerns go beyond simply seeing an ad.

First, these dynamically updated billboards on the field are jarringly out of place in the game's virtual world. Imagine you're immersed in a tense match, and then suddenly an ad pops up for Red Bull, then for some streaming platform - the immersion is shattered.

Furthermore, some veteran players are immediately reminded of the 2020 backlash. Back then, the development team placed full-screen ads in EA Sports UFC 4 promoting the sitcom The Boys, resulting in widespread criticism and a forced apology and removal.

Now, they claim these ads enhance the experience - who believes that?

The biggest fear is that this is a test: today it's just billboards on the field, tomorrow will it become mandatory pop-ups? The day after, will they release a monthly ad-free subscription service?

This means your wallet contributes to unlocking FUT 26, and then you have to contribute to removing ads - isn't that just being exploited at every turn? That's what everyone's most anxious about.

Official Response

Of course, EA Sports FC 26 has been facing criticism for a long time. While the development team's explanations haven't been accepted by players, their underlying business logic isn't entirely untenable.

The official statement is that the development costs of AAA games are ridiculously high these days. Graphics are getting better and better, and content is piling up, but game prices have been stuck around $60 for years. They need to find other ways to fill this gap.

Ad revenue can support the long-term updates and maintenance of FC 26. Otherwise, relying solely on game sales, where would they get the money to continuously release new player cards and new modes?

Furthermore, the development team believes that real-world football matches are full of billboards and sponsors, so replicating this in a football game would make it more realistic and closer to real-world broadcasts.

So no matter how players and outsiders question it, they all say that introducing EA Advertising enhances the gaming experience for FC 26.

By the way, if you're short on resources in FC 26 lately, you can participate in FC 26 Glory Hunters coins giveaways on IGGM Discord for a chance to share 10M coins!

A Deeper Background

In fact, FC 26's in-game ads are not an isolated case. Almost the entire gaming industry is moving towards in-game advertising, and many major companies have already begun deploying similar technologies.

To put it bluntly, in the future, all major titles may gradually adopt this form of in-game advertising. FC 26 simply launched it first, making it the target of public criticism.

Ultimately, players' anger isn't just about those few billboards in EA FC 26, but rather the fear that once this advertising door is opened, it can never be closed again. Even if the development team says it enhances the experience, given the precedent of 2020, players are already immune to this rhetoric.

Where this advertising controversy will ultimately lead is still uncertain, but one thing is certain: if FC 26 truly treats players as mere traffic rather than users, the lost trust will probably not be something the development team can recover with a few explanations.

However, if they want to continue operating this football game for a long time, it will probably be very difficult.

EA has launched Glory Hunters, the latest summer event for FC 26, officially launching on June 26th and running until July 10th. As the core mid-season content of Festival of Football, this event introduces a brand-new gameplay feature - PlayStyles customization.

This is fantastic news for players who have long wanted to freely build their squads. It means unprecedented flexibility and freedom in squad building, freeing players from the constraints of tactical styles imposed by the rules, allowing them to use any players they like.

In addition, Glory Hunters also features elite player cards currently participating in FIFA World Cup. You can freely combine players based on their attributes and stats, or simply choose your favorites. Follow along to uncover the full story of Glory Hunters.

Key Highlights

The biggest highlight of this event is PlayStyles customization. In previous FC 26 events, PlayStyles and PlayStyle+ were fixed. This event allows players to freely choose which PlayStyles to add for specific event player cards.

Meanwhile, a PlayStyles Lab feature has been added to the menu, allowing players to customize players according to their tactical preferences.

This means that the same player card can be designed to emphasize speed, defense, or playmaking abilities, among other PlayStyles.

It completely hands over the power to determine player strength and tactical style to the player, representing a fundamental shift from an era where team strength was determined by card draws to one where strategy dictates strength.

Detailed Features

1. Blank Player Cards

All player cards in FC 26 Glory Hunters are initially blank, without any additional PlayStyles or PlayStyles+, possessing only basic stats. You can manually add your desired PlayStyles to player cards in PlayStyles Lab, completely free of charge, and there are no restrictions on making changes.

2. Active Customization

You can completely shape player attributes according to your preferred playing style and tactics. For example, if you prefer counter-attacking, you can max out the defensive attributes of your center-backs, or if you prefer wing-based attacking tactics, you can max out the sprinting and dribbling skills of your wingers. In short, your PlayStyles lineup is entirely up to you.

3. Value Transfer

Previously, high-value players in FC 26 were largely determined by fixed stats. After Glory Hunters, player card stats can be customized, thus overturning the previous system where high stats equal high value.

PlayStyles become the core determinant of player value. Going forward, players may not be primarily focused on acquiring high-level players with large amounts of Coins, but rather on the key PlayStyles items or resources that transform basic player cards into powerful ones.

During the event, you can obtain these crucial permanent items by acquiring card packs, completing challenges, or completing objective missions.

Glory Hunters Items are divided into two team-exclusive sets. The first set of team items lasts from June 26th to July 3rd, and the second set from July 3rd to July 10th, each set lasting one week.

Similarly, these items will appear on the in-game trading market, and their prices will rise significantly if Glory Hunters Items are tradable, you'll need to spend a substantial amount of FC 26 Coins to acquire them.

In short, PlayStyles customization, as a core highlight of Glory Hunters, is of great significance to both players and the game itself.

Player Roster

Glory Hunters' player selection focuses on elite players who have performed exceptionally well in real life, including Icon players and current national team players. Their overall rating is expected to be between 94 and 98, placing them at a level where they can be used directly in final matches. Each card has extremely high collectible value.

Based on the most leaked player information so far, only the first group of teams has relatively complete player information:

• Lionel Messi
• Neymar Jr.
• Ousmane Dembélé
• Bruno Fernandes
• Virgil van Dijk
• Marcus Rashford
• Federico Valverde
• João Cancelo
• Thibaut Courtois
• Fabián Ruiz
• Moisés Caicedo
• Richard Ríos

The second group of players is still unclear, and even the leaked information is incomplete. However, judging from the first group's roster, in addition to players who have consistently performed well in matches, there are also some rookie players from this year's FIFA World Cup.

We can reasonably speculate that the players who will be released on July 3rd may be another group of rookies who performed well between June 26th and July 3rd.

Therefore, it seems that players who want to predict or invest in players in advance not only need to pay attention to any developments in FC 26, but also need to watch World Cup matches. After all, player attribute data in FC 26 has always been closely linked to player performance on the field.

Or if you want to unlock these players more easily, participating in IGGM FC 26 Glory Hunters coins giveaway on Discord is a great option! Simply leave an emoji for a chance to share 10 million coins equally with nine other players for free!

Completion Strategy

Since Glory Hunters only exists for two weeks during FC 26, and each set of player cards can only be obtained for one week, you must maximize all rewards from the event and challenges: FC 26 Coins, Glory Hunters Items, or some player cards.

1. Pack Opening Strategy

If you currently have card packs saved up in FC 26, you can save them for when Glory Hunters event goes live, because according to player community speculation, the drop rate of card packs will be higher when a new event is launched.

2. Resource Planning

Based on leaked player information, you can observe the market in advance and accumulate some high-rated player cards for investment, saving up some Coins. After all, some top players, such as Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr., have a very low drop rate in card packs and may only be obtainable through high-priced acquisition on the market later.

3. Gameplay Tips

Since the event duration is short, it's best to prioritize completing tasks that refresh during the event period. Then, focus on tasks related to team composition restrictions and win counts, such as Weekend League, to maximize your time utilization.

FC 26 Glory Hunters officially launches tomorrow, are you ready?