FOOTBALL

Football Manager 26: Release date, new features and more

Liam Williams Updated: 28 Oct 25 09:02

After months of waiting, fans have a release date for Football Manager 26.

Football Manager 25, due to be released last autumn, was cancelled in February 2025 after several delays, with attentions turning to the next iteration of the legendary football management simulator.

Find out all you need to know about the new edition of the Football Manager series below.

When is FM26 released?

Football Manager 26 will be released on Tuesday 4th November.

Why was FM25 cancelled?

The release of Football Manager 25 was cancelled owing to a number of issues with the game during development.

In a recent interview discussing why the game wasn't released, Sports Interactive's studio director Miles Jacobson said: "It just wasn't fun. You couldn't find things in-game. It was clunky. Some of the screens were double-loading.

"The actual game itself was working -- graphically, we weren't where we wanted to be. We didn't have the big leap that we wanted; it was a very good jump, but it wasn't a leap,"

Where can you buy FM26?

Pre-orders are available for PC through Steam, Epic Games Store and Windows.

For the console version, players can purchase through the Xbox Store or PlayStation store. FM Touch will be available on the Nintendo Switch store, with FM26 Mobile available to play via Netflix.

FM26 PC and Mac requirements

Windows

Minimum (PC)

OS version
Windows 10 (with updates 22H2)
Windows 11 (with updates 23H2)

CPU
Desktop: Intel Core i3-530 or AMD FX-4100
Laptop: Intel Core i3-330M or AMD A6-5200 Requires SSE4.2 & SSSE3

Memory
4GB

GPU
Desktop: NVIDIA GeForce GTX960, AMD Radeon R9380, Intel HD530.
Laptop: NVIDIA GeForce GTX960M, AMD Radeon R9M375, Intel HD530. 512MB VRAM

DirectX
DirectX 11

Storage
20GB

OS version
Windows 11 (with updates 23H2)

CPU
Desktop: Intel Core i5-9600 or AMD Ryzen 5 2600
Laptop: Intel Core i5-1035G7 or AMD Ryzen 7 3750

Memory
12GB

GPU
Desktop: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, or AMD Radeon RX5600 XT
Laptop: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, or AMD Radeon RX 6600M

DirectX
DirectX 11

Storage
20GB

Mac

Minimum

OS version
11 Big Sur, 12 Monterey, 13 Ventura, 14 Sonoma, 15 Sequoia - with updates

CPU
Apple M1 or Intel Core M

Memory
4GB

GPU
Desktop: Apple M1, NVIDIA GeForce GT750M, Intel HD Graphics 5000, AMD FirePro D300
Laptop: Apple M1, NVIDIA GeForce GT750M, Intel HD 5000

Storage
20GB

What platforms can you play it on?

Football Manager 26 will be available on PC, Mac, Xbox Series X and S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and Netflix.

What are the different versions?

The full game will be available on PC and Mac with the console version available on Xbox Series X and S and PlayStation 5. The Touch version will be available on Nintendo Switch with the Mobile game available on Netflix.

New features

Part of the reason for the delay to and eventual cancellation of FM25 was the move to the new Unity engine, significantly overhauling the old user interface.

As part of the move to Unity, much better matchday graphics will be provided with enhanced player movement and more on-pitch detail.

The Premier League will also be licensed in FM26 which will include club badges, kits and official player photos, while women's football will also make its Football Manager debut.