Sega announces that the football management franchise Football Manager returns on November 4th with Football Manager 26, available on PC and Mac, as well as on PlayStation 5 and Xbox consoles. The Nintendo Switch version, titled Football Manager 26 Touch, will be released digitally on December 4th, so there’s only a month to wait.
This time, after a long journey, Football Manager 26 is experiencing a revolution thanks to the use of the Unity Engine, something that hadn’t happened before in the series. This has allowed Sega to revitalize the franchise and reach a new level of quality, allowing this football series from Sports Interactive to continue its quest to win over fans of the sport.
Football Manager 26 launch
Every match brings greater drama and spectacle thanks to new volumetric animations from real-life matches and glorious, upgraded on-pitch visuals. FM26 delivers new levels of authenticity, with the newly-licensed Premier League providing the ultimate stage for this redefined era.
A new world of possibilities is opened up by the arrival of Women’s Football. Seamlessly integrated into the FM ecosystem as one footballing world, this debut is backed by the most comprehensive database of its kind and a host of licensed competitions set to be revealed in the coming weeks.
A re-imagined user interface gives players greater control and influence over the make-or-break decisions in every career. Designed to be more intuitive for all players from series newcomers to FM veterans, FM26’s User Interface underpins further improvements across tactics, scouting and recruitment.
Also launching day one is Football Manager 26 Console, which brings the new era of football management to players on Xbox and PlayStation 5. FM26 Console (Xbox), as well as FM26 (PC/Mac), will both be available via Xbox Game Pass.
Football Manager 26 Touch is also returning to Nintendo Switch for an eighth season, launching digitally on December 4.
Despite being on a whole new engine, technology that converts your saved games to the new format means that FM26, FM26 Console and FM26 Touch will all launch with save game compatibility for Football Manager 2024 and Football Manager 2023.
Football Manager 26 Mobile also launches on November 4 as a Netflix exclusive. Combining a retro feel with bespoke new features, FM26 Mobile is the only title in the suite not switching to Unity at this time. Additionally, FM26 Mobile will be the first edition in our Mobile series with save game compatibility functionality*.
Sports Interactive Studio Director Miles Jacobson said: “I’m honoured and delighted to be revealing Football Manager 26’s release date today.
“Setting Sports Interactive up for the next 20 years and beyond was an enormous undertaking but I couldn’t be prouder of the efforts of the whole team over the past two years.
“FM26 represents a landmark release in our quest to produce football management perfection and the whole studio is really excited to share it with the world.”
Further information on FM26’s availability on other platforms will be revealed in the coming weeks.
Pre-purchases for FM26 are open until November 4, with SEGA-approved digital retailers** offering 10% discounts on the £49.99 retail price.
Those pre-purchasing on PC and Mac can kick off their managerial career ahead of schedule with Advanced Access to FM26. Advanced Access will be available on Steam and Epic approximately two weeks*** before the official street date. Single-player careers started in that period can be continued when the game updates for launch on November 4.
*Save game compatibility in FM26 Mobile is restricted to FM24 Mobile careers only.
**Advanced Access is available from SEGA-approved digital retailers only.
***Advanced Access may go live at different times on different platforms.
