If the proverb "absence makes the heart grow fonder" was written about die hard fans of the Football Manager franchise, you'd need to add "and less patient."
After Football Manager 2025 was delayed twice and then cancelled, expectations for Football Manager 26 have been sky-high. FM26 is the studio's first built on a new Unity engine, designed to update everything from the game's match lighting to menus and user-interface. The game is noticeably different for fans of the franchise, particularly those who have predominantly played on the "full fat" version of previous games, rather than a less complex version on a tablet or mobile device.
Long-time PC users, who have built muscle memory to the spreadsheet-esque nature of some functions in previous versions now may feel the game has been robbed of its depth in favour of making things more accessible. A blog post of the Football Manager website heavily hinted that the game has been changed to make it more console friendly by suggesting PC users plug in a controller to improve gameplay. As someone who has migrated from playing FM23 and 24 via FM Touch on iPad back to a version on a PC, it has perhaps been easier for me to adapt than others.
The game's beta version was released to those who had pre-purchased it on October 23 to help find and troubleshoot bugs and issues that only a diehard fan would find. In previous years the beta could well have just been called "early access", due to certain major issues. That is not the case with FM26, however.
The game's first weekend was both frustrating and hilarious in somewhat equal measure, with bugs including game crashes, buttons not working, misalignment of menus and substitutes not taking their training gear off before entering the field of play. Personally, I experienced a very frustrating period where I was completely unable to select a team for a match, meaning the only way out of it was the "Instant Result" button to automate the day's game. There have been multiple hotfix updates to the game already delivered, during the beta period, with more already promised once the game has launched.
The new match engine is a giant leap forward from previous versions, aided by the addition of things like the Premier League official licenses, which means a real TV-style feel to most games. Player animations are much more fluid and at times it does feel much more realistic than previous entries. The introduction of in and out of play formation brings an extra dimension to setting up your tactics, your instructions seem to matter more in gameplay and the AI presses more intelligently. The "Touchline Shouts" function from previous games -- which allowed you to send encouragement/support/abuse to your players during a game -- is certainly missed. Apparently, they never actually make a tangible difference, but at least they made you feel like you were doing something.
Press conferences and other media interactions are still dreadfully repetitive, something which ultimately even the most ardent user will be delegating to other backroom staff members, hoping your assistant manager doesn't upset your star striker in the process.
The addition of 14 playable women's leagues from 11 nations opens up another new avenue to play. The fact players can set up a save and move between men's and women's teams shows the inclusion is thoughtfully done. The inclusion of women's players on EA Sports' FC franchise has done wonders for visibility and recognition of the star players among users of that game.
The improvements made to the transfer system have made things more realistic. The ability to talk to and potentially agree to the framework of a contract with an agent before making a move for a player aligns with how transfers are now reported. The addition of a "TransferRoom" branded portal makes finding players much more rewarding, less time consuming and closer to how things work in real life.
In addition to the new league and team licenses previously mentioned, players will be able to return to international management in the game at some point in the future, once the new agreement with FIFA kick -in, meaning that you'll be able to try and navigate your national side to victory in next summer's World Cup and beyond.
If Sports Interactive continue to fix the bugs and improve the game at the rate at which they have done so far, then the rebirth of Football Manager 26 will eventually be worth it for fans. Is the game a complete dumpster file as many would have you believe? No. Is it a masterpiece? The answer is also no, it is very rough around the edges, but I believe that the growing pains here will ultimately be worth it for the future of the franchise.