EA FC 26 is officially live, with many players jumping in early using the New Zealand trick or through EA Play. However, fans using the latter method are running into an error that’s halting their progress.
Subscribers to EA Play or EA Pro were granted early access to the game, allowing them to start the Ultimate Team grind ahead of time. If you have a membership, regardless of platform, you could get in from midnight in New Zealand, which equates to 5 AM PT or 1 PM BST.
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But for thousands of PC players who hoped to get a headstart, the fun was cut short by an error, reading: “We could not activate EA SPORTS FC 26 EA Play Pro Edition on this computer using the EA account you provided.”
“We could not activate EA SPORTS FC 26” error leaves fans unable to play
At the time of writing, there is no workaround, leaving PC players completely unable to launch the new game. The devs have responded to the issue, suggesting that a fix shouldn’t be too far away.
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“We are investigating reports that some players are unable to launch the FC 26 EA Play and EA Play Pro trials on PC and are actively investigating,” they said in an X post.
We are investigating reports that some players are unable to launch the FC 26 EA Play and EA Play Pro trials on PC and are actively investigating.
— EA SPORTS FC Direct Communication (@EASFCDirect) September 18, 2025
This isn’t enough for some players, though, who pointed out that early access was one of the main benefits of being an EA Play subscriber. Given that every minute the game is unavailable draws them closer to the midnight release of the Ultimate Edition for non-members, some are even demanding compensation.
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“You should refund people who bought it…” said one reply.
“The least you could do is fix it immediately and offer compensation,” added another.
The good news is that EA SPORTS are aware of the issue and is working on a solution, so if you’re running into this error, you should have access very soon.
In the meantime, you can head over to our EA FC 26 wiki a ton of useful guides to help you start strong in this year’s Ultimate Team.
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