After the heavy disaster known as Football Manager 2025. After 3 years, the best football manager simulation in the world is finally returning! Football Manager 2026 has been officially announced to be released on November 4, 2025, but a beta could currently be released at any moment.
For fans and enthusiasts of Football Manager like myself, this year is special because it will be the first time since the introduction of the 3D Engine (back in 2008) that FM will receive a complete overhaul.
From graphics to tactics to the way players are bought and a bunch of different other additions.
But let's start with the biggest change coming with FM26
Graphics: FM26 is the first time that FM has switched to an engine that is not an in-studio engine from Sports Interactive. In this case, it's Unity. With Unity, SI has raised the graphics to the next level... we can't say it's on the level of EA FC or something similar... but at least it no longer looks like a game from 2005. It's something prettier and much more modern!
UI: Along with the new graphics, there is also a completely new UI. The legendary UI that we have all gotten used to has gone into history and is not coming back... at least until someone figures out how to make skins.
The new UI looks like it was built for tablets and consoles... but it must be said that it looks very nice and very modern. Personally, I like the fact that messages now resemble WhatsApp more than email; it's a minimal but solid upgrade. Everything looks very close and simple.
Women's football: For the first time in history, women's football is coming to Football Manager with 11 countries featuring 14 leagues and 41,100 female players. Of course, FM26 will not force you to play as women. You will be able to choose between men's and women's football or have both!
It should be noted that women's football will not play the same as men's; it will have its own Match Engine and completely different finances and transfers.
Tactics: The second biggest change in this year's football manager is that we will FINALLY have tactics for both in possession and out of possession. Along with that comes a bunch of new player roles. This will be a complete change in how football manager has been played so far and honestly, I can't wait to try it out!
Recruitment: Along with all that, there is also a change in how you buy and bring in players. You will finally be able to give bonuses to clubs if the player they sell you ever becomes the best in the world. Additionally, they have added the ability to create ads for the positions you need. SI continues its partnership with TransferRoom this year, and a bunch of features in recruitment are based on their application used by almost all professional clubs today.
All in all, FM26 looks like a huge beast of a game... And I can’t wait to spend another year of my life training non-existent players (no, I'm not joking, I calculated that I've spent 360 days just on FM over the last year... help!)
