EA "investigating" FC 26 early access error as PC players are left in the cold

It's common practice these days to offer exclusive early access to players who run the risk of pre-ordering a game or paying a little extra for a special edition. However, it's often the case that these early adopters end up feeling like a final round of beta testers. This is the case for EA Sports FC 26, where some on PC are struggling to log into the game at all, with an error message directing them to EA's defunct Origin launcher.

EA Sports FC 26 developer EA offered early access to numerous sets of players this year. First off, those who pre-ordered the Ultimate Edition get up to seven days of early access, starting on Friday, September 19. Second, anyone who is subscribed to EA Play Pro also receives the same early access period. As it has just hit midnight on the Sep 19 in New Zealand, eligible players who fool their devices into thinking they're in Aotearoa should have access to the game now. Should…

Instead, the sports game is throwing up an error message titled "DisplayName field missing from registry," when you try to log in via EA Play Pro. The red text on the error message reads, "We could not activate DisplayName field missing from registry. on this computer using the EA Account you provided. Please activate the game's Product Code at Origin.com. If you have already completed that step, please make sure you're signing in to the same EA Account used to activate the game."

This is obviously an incredibly outdated message. Origin.com, like the launcher of the same name, was sunsetted by EA earlier this year. Thus, players are stuck. With no way to follow the error message's instructions and their precious early access time slipping away with every successive login attempt, it's a frustrating start for FC 26.

EA has responded to the social media backlash, saying it is "actively investigating" the situation. "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," the post on X (Twitter) reads. It's currently unclear how quickly this will be fixed.

Many players on Reddit are complaining about the issue, including some who have packed great players in preview packs on the web app, and need to frantically gather enough coins to buy them before the 24-hour timer expires. "This company is just a fucking joke," writes u/Dry-Ad-2457. Another is at least taking the news in good humor. "Thanks god I'm not alone with this problem," says u/szuker. "Classic EA. Fifa without problems is not a real fifa lmao. [sic]"

If you can't get into the game right now, check out our list of the best football games on PC. Whether you're waiting for EA to fix this bug or for the full release, it's worth ensuring your PC meets the EA Sports FC 26 system requirements.

Are you waiting to gain early access to EA Sports FC 26? You may as well drop into our community Discord server, where readers and staff hang out, while you twiddle your thumbs.