FWBenThe PlayStyle Lab in EA Sports FC 26 is a new Ultimate Team feature that allows players to manually select their preferred base PlayStyles and PlayStyles+ for specific promo items.
Replacing the Birthday Bakery system from earlier this year, EA is bringing back the fan-favorite customization experience and expanding it massively for the summer content cycle. Crucially, almost all eligible cards for this feature will drop completely "blank"—meaning they launch with zero base PlayStyles and zero PlayStyles+.
Instead of EA dictating the meta, the power is entirely in your hands to craft the exact player you need for your squad.
How the two PlayStyle Labs work
To upgrade your players, EA has split the feature into two separate Lab Evolutions. Both are completely free to use, have zero cooldowns, and can be repeated an unlimited amount of times across different players. They also both support every position on the pitch, including Goalkeepers, and let you choose from every single PlayStyle in the game.
PlayStyles+ Lab
- Entry requirement: Max 2 PlayStyles+ on the card.
- Output: Upgrades the item to 3 PlayStyles+.
Base PlayStyles Lab
- Entry requirement: Max 7 base PlayStyles on the card.
- Output: Upgrades the item to 8 base PlayStyles.
Unlike the Birthday Bakery which had strict usage limits, the PlayStyle Lab gives you the freedom to customize as many eligible items as you want.
Which players can use the PlayStyle Lab?
The PlayStyle Lab does not work on just any card in your club. You can only use it on specific rarities that are designed for this system. The eligible item types include:
- International Star Performers
- National Pride
- National Pride Champions
- FUT Birthday
- Glory Hunters
While most of these cards launch entirely blank, International Star Performers are the one exception. These items may release with a single base PlayStyle or PlayStyle+ that reflects a specific real-world moment, leaving the rest of the slots for you to customize.
Additionally, the Glory Hunters campaign arrives later on June 26. EA has confirmed this will be an entire promo squad released without any PlayStyles, relying entirely on the Lab for upgrades.
Do cosmetic Evolutions affect eligibility?
Yes, and this is a crucial detail to remember. If you apply an Evolution rarity cosmetic to an eligible Player Item, you can no longer use that player in the PlayStyle Lab. The item must remain its original, eligible rarity to be customized, so do not apply red Champions cosmetics to these cards before finishing their Labs.
Can you sell PlayStyle Lab players on the Transfer Market?
Yes, but there is a catch. You cannot sell a player with their customized PlayStyles still attached. The only reason you can sell these players later is thanks to the new Evo Undo feature, which releases on servers alongside the June 4 update.
If you put a tradable player through the PlayStyle Lab and decide they don't fit your team long-term, you must use Evo Undo to fully reset the card. This removes your custom PlayStyles, but crucially restores the item's tradable status so you can list them on the Transfer Market. This means you can freely experiment with different custom builds on new promo players without permanently locking in your coins.
For more details on the wider summer update, check out our full breakdown of The World’s Game update in FC 26, or head back to the FUT.GG homepage to track the newest Evolutions, players, and live SBCs.