EA Sports FC 26 Players May Want to Turn Off Crossplay

A regional pricing error has reportedly allowed some EA Sports FC 26 players to purchase FC Points at a fraction of their regular price, with devastating consequences for the Ultimate Team economy. Since the glitch was only accessible on PC, anyone playing EA Sports FC 26 on a console may want to turn off crossplay—with one exception.

EA Sports FC 26 was released on September 26, following a week-long early access period. The latest entry in EA’s soccer sim franchise is available on PC and the latest two generations of PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo consoles.

Thousands of FC Points Allegedly Sold for Cents to Some EA Sports FC 26 Players

The EA Sports FC 26 launch was reportedly not entirely smooth, having stumbled on a regional pricing issue that’s affecting some people’s enjoyment of the game. According to multiple fan testimonies circulating online, a decimal-point error that flew under the radar allowed some PC players in Indonesia to purchase 18,500 FC Points—normally priced at 2 million rupiah—for either 2,000 or 20,000 rupiah, the equivalent of $0.12/$1.20. Once the news of the glitch started spreading, some players have reportedly found success taking advantage of the erroneous pricing by spoofing their IP address with a VPN.

Player testimonies of the glitched price aren’t entirely consistent; Reddit user Lawakawaa reports that the 18,500 FC Points pack retailed for 2,000 rupiah, but several other players claim that the price was 10 times higher. Still, even at 20,000 rupiah, the $120 microtransaction would have been available at 1% of its usual price. The exploit has apparently been abused widely enough to disrupt the EA Sports FC 26 Ultimate Team mode, with many people acquiring overpowered teams within hours of the game’s international launch by buying FC Points for pennies on the dollar, prompting widespread complaints on social media from disadvantaged players.

How To Disable Crossplay in EA Sports FC 26

EA Sports FC 26 Cross-Play Enabled Matchmaking Options

Select the EA Connect option in the bottom-right corner of the Main Menu.
Open Social Settings.
Select Cross-play.
Select Cross-play Settings.
Under Cross-play Enabled, set to toggle to No.

EA has not yet acknowledged these fan grievances via its EASFCDirect Twitter account or any other channel. It is hence unclear whether the publisher will consider reversing the glitched transactions. Some countries, such as certain EU member states, force retailers to honor prices listed online, even if they were made in error, with few exceptions. However, the legal situation gets a lot murkier when VPNs come into play. According to several player testimonies reviewed by Game Rant, the VPN exploit only worked for transactions made via Apple Pay.

EA Sports FC 26 Switch Players Have Nothing to Worry About

Given the current state of affairs, console users may want to disable crossplay in EA Sports FC 26 unless they are prepared to consistently face overpowered squads in Ultimate Team mode so early into the game’s launch. The only exception is for Switch and Switch 2 owners, as the Nintendo versions do not support crossplay with PC or other consoles.