Last week, EA Sports held an open beta for EA Sports FC 26 on the Nintendo Switch 2, giving players their first chance to go hands-on with the game on the console. Shortly after the launch of the beta on Aug. 8, footage of the game started to appear on the internet, confirming that the game runs at 30 frames per second, rather than the 60 frames per second rate seen in other versions of the game.
Higher frame rates typically lead to a more fluid experience, improving motion clarity and reducing latency, allowing for faster response times in the heat of the moment. Most game developers try to aim for 60fps where possible and in genres, like fighting games and competitive shooters, where fast-twitch reflexes are important. Other game types suffer less from having lower frame rates, so developers sometimes choose to focus on fidelity and higher resolutions while cutting the frame rate in half to 30fps. Lower frame rates can spark backlash from fans, and some online have expressed disappointment over the number.
The good news for players is that the Switch 2 version of the game does at least have feature parity with the PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S versions of the game, with all of the gameplay bells and whistles seen on the current-generation consoles present on Nintendo's new handheld. That makes for a marked improvement over the almost decade of EA Sports FC and FIFA games before it on Nintendo consoles, which have typically been left with last-gen versions of the game, stripped back in features and often remaining the same technically each year with only changes to the player lineup to differentiate yearly entries. That stripped back version of the game will remain on the original Nintendo Switch, as well as the PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game.
EA Sports FC 26 will be released on all major platforms on Sept. 26, 2025.