Just a short while after we wrote an article about the lack of details about Football Manager 2026 from Sports Interactive, we have now seen some details about the potential release date of the game.
How do we know a potential release date?
However, it was not from SI directly. Instead, it came in the form of a leaked document from SI. A holding company of Sega, called Sega Sammy, decided to send investors a PDF file on 18th June, which included information on FM.
The document shared stuff like sales numbers, which were not meant for public consumption. It ended up on archived online before Sega had the opportunity to remove it from their website.
However, FMScout took a screenshot of the document after the FM Console YouTube channel had access to it, and we thank them for that.
The above screenshot talking about the new releases shows that Football Manager 2026 is due out in Fall 2025, or Autumn, for everybody who is not from the United States. Apparently, Fall is considered from 22nd September until 21st December.
The fact that the game could be released in Autumn is no surprise, as most recent editions of the game have come out towards the end of October or the beginning of November.
However, the fact that it says ‘Fall’ seems to have sent some FM players into panic that the game could be coming out later in the year than it usually does. In reality, it could well just come out during its usual release time of the year.
How much can SI really say about FM26?
The cancellation of FM 2025 has had fans question SI, and all they do, especially as they have already stated that they have so much work to do on the new edition of the game.
The perceived radio silence from Sports Interactive recently about FM26 has been frustrating for sure. However, the game developers will no doubt say that they are releasing information when it needs to be released, which is business as usual.
Maybe FM players expected more information because FM25 was cancelled. That wasn’t always necessary going to be the case. Studio Director Miles Jacobsen tried his best to communicate with FM fans on social media, until he started receiving undeserved abuse on the same platform.
Miles cannot be blamed for the cancellation of FM25, although it seems a lot of fans’ complaints and frustrations were taken out on him. I can’t say I know him personally, but from his social media interactions, he has always come across as a pretty honest guy.
Then there is the issue of what he is and isn’t allowed to talk about due to having to answer to investors or shareholders of SI. Like with any global organisation, there is likely to be a certain amount of information that needs to be kept in-house.
As customers, we don’t know the ins and outs of a lot of the businesses we use, and probably don’t want to either. For some reason, though, some FM players feel that the SI owe them more. In fact, I think SI does a good job every year of making a new game.
Obviously, the fact that they had to cancel FM25 was a major blot on their copybook. However, for me, they have enough credit in the bank from creating games that are actually value for money and usually improved with every edition.
What have we learnt from this leak?
In all honesty, we haven’t really learnt much from the leak, apart from the fact that it is likely to be released in its usual slot. Some say that’s a good sign that the game will be ready, but some say it could be delayed until later than its normal annual release time because it isn’t quite finished.
Without SI releasing an official statement confirming when the game will be ready for release, it’s all whispers and rumours. As fans of the game, we are all desperate for news and the release of the latest edition, which is why this leak garnered so much attention.
I have a feeling that SI will only release information on a potential release date of FM26 when they feel like the game is truly ready, and is that really a bad way to approach it?
Did we learn anything from the recent leak regarding FM26?
