REVIEW: ‘Football Manager 26’ Is A Radical Jump For The Franchise

Football Manager 26 marks the long-awaited return of the Football Manager franchise after taking a year off. Football Manager 26 makes the move to the Unity engine, giving the series its biggest overhaul since the early 2000s. With a completely revamped 3D match engine and a brand-new UI experience, Football Manager 26 is the first look at what the future holds for Football Manager. 

Opening up Football Manager 26 is going to catch long-time players off guard. The new UI has been shown extensively in the lead-up to release, but nothing can prepare players for the whiplash of no longer knowing where anything is. That muscle memory built up over years of playing is hard to overcome, but after the initial shock, it is quite easy to see why Football Manager 26 made these changes.

The menus in Football Manager 26 just make sense. Information might be buried behind more mouse clicks than normal, but the way it is organized is significantly more organic. Simply put, information is exactly where someone might expect to find it. The squad tab, for example, lets you check out players from the main squad and youth teams, view training schedules, and keep tabs on who is on international duty. 

There is also a bookmark menu that lets you save the pages you find most useful so you can access them faster. Players can have up to 12 bookmarks, although I never found myself needing more than 8. This small feature is an absolute game-changer, and knowing how to use it will drastically reduce the time players spend clicking through menus.

Football Manager 26’s menu system is just the right amount of intuitive.

Another great update is the contextual panels that show up on each screen. Pages are not overloaded with numbers, and the information shown is usually the most useful to players. Clicking on a panel pops it out to give the in-depth info players are looking for without overwhelming new players who are just trying to get a hang of things.

While it makes sense that long-time players might find the overhaul challenging, the changes are virtually all for the better. It is much more approachable for new players without sacrificing the depth that more experienced football managers seek. There are some kinks to iron out, and the menus didn’t always work as expected, but Sports Interactive is using the Advanced Access Beta to determine what needs to be smoothed out first. If they can clean up some of the minor issues, the UI will ultimately be a massive hit.

Tactics have been improved as well, with new in and out-of-possession instructions available to give players more control over how they approach matches. This unlocks a whole new layer of tactical challenges that players can exploit to dominate their domestic leagues or to win the Champions League. This also comes with a new set of risks, like when I messed with my out-of-possession setup a little too much and started conceding goals at an alarming rate, but it more accurately showcases the trickiness of nailing soccer tactics.

Women’s soccer makes it to Football Manager 26 and is given just as much attention as men’s soccer.

Women’s soccer makes its debut in Football Manager 26, and it is much more than just a half-baked approach. Some of the world’s best leagues, like the NWSL in the United States and England’s Women’s Super League, are in the game alongside the top leagues in Spain, France, and other countries.

As someone who covers the NWSL’s Orlando Pride, it was fascinating to see the club displayed in-game in such detail. Football Manager 26 clearly shows love for the Women’s game, and it is a blast to take control of some of the best players in the world and lead them to glory, just as Men’s soccer fans have been able to do for decades.

All of those additions are great, but the most revolutionary is the updated 3D match engine. Football Manager 26 uses Unity to create the most authentic in-game experience the series has ever known. Gone are the extremely awkward character models that move like stiff boards. Players in Football Manager 26 now move much like they do in real life, though not quite to the level they do in something like EA Sports FC.

The new 3D match engine raises the bar for Football Manager 26.

The new engine makes playing games more enjoyable because it offers much more variety. Player animations are so varied that you will rarely ever see the same thing twice in quick succession. There are a few bugs here as well, like getting caught in the substitute menu and not being able to get back into the game.

Goalkeeper movement is also a bit disappointing, with players leaving their box way too often despite instructions and allowing crazy midfield goals. Some minor tweaks to the in-game engine will be needed, but the initial offering absolutely nails the “just one more game” feeling that Football Manager has always been known for.

In-game highlights feature a new dynamic mode, a massive addition. This allows games to show highlights based on contextual factors such as how important the match is and how close the two teams are. You won’t get too many highlights if you’re playing against a third division side, but matches between top teams will show significantly more of these tense moments. I don’t see myself ever switching from dynamic highlights, it is that good.

Despite a solid progression in the series, there are still some bugs that need squashing.

As great as Football Manager 26 is at the moment, it is not yet a complete package. International Management is coming later on, but no date has been announced yet. It will be fully licensed, but not every league or team in the game is at the moment. Having entire leagues filled with fake players, teams, or staff members is a bummer, given the level of detail in so much of the game.

The new changes also bring plenty of new bugs that might not be fixed overnight. Sports Interactive has promised to address many of these by the time the game launches, but until they do, there are definitely some frustrating moments. There is no reason to doubt their ability to fix these issues; it is just important to note that not everyone will be able to experience the game at its best until they do.

Football Manager 26 is a revolutionary change to a longstanding franchise that has more than enough great updates to overcome a few small warts. If Sports Interactive can iron those out over time, Football Manager 26 could easily go down as one of the best in the history of the franchise.

Football Manager 26 releases on November 4, 2025, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.