So yesterday was the day many players who pre-ordered FM26 got their first look at the game via beta access. In typical Football Manager fashion, the beta dropped late — around 8 pm GMT — after it was scheduled for 5 PM.
This wasn’t a massive surprise, as it has happened before with beta. Once many players saw the game, they wondered if they had dropped it a few months earlier, never mind a few hours late.
The beta release has not gone down well with many fans
When the beta dropped, there was always going to be criticism, as many FM fans are still reeling from the fact that SI didn’t deliver an FM25 game. So long-term players have almost given up on the franchise and moved on to other pursuits.
Some FM players, like me, are no longer gamers, and Football Manager is the only game they play regularly. Not only have those ‘fans’ jumped ship, but it seems like the FM26 beta has caused many other players to turn their backs on the franchise entirely.
The Football Manager forums are flooded with players who say they played the beta for a few hours and have already given up on it.
So! First couple of hours on the #FM26 BETA.. what are your first thoughts?
— FMInside (@fminside) October 24, 2025
Some are asking for refunds on Steam, which I believe is possible if you have played a game for less than 2 hours. While other fans say they will return to FM24 once many of the bugs are fixed.
Players were always going to need patience with FM26
Given that fans have had to wait so long for a new FM game, I feel expectations were always unrealistic, and many were impatient to see precisely what SI have come up with.
The problem is that SI are using a completely different game engine, Unity, as we all know. There were always going to be teething problems with the game.
Every recent Football Manager has famously needed a load of patches, and many times didn’t feel complete until early the following year, with many patches released to fix the game’s glitches.
There were always going to be more problems with FM26 because the game engine was new. SI has been on a steep learning curve with the new engine, as evidenced by the developers’ decision not to release FM25, which used the Unity engine, because it was nowhere near ready.
It seems that SI are still working on some of those issues. The release of FM26 was arguably rushed out due to the long delay between FM24 and FM26. Any further delays may well have led to even more discontent.
As FM players, we should feel grateful that we haven’t had to deal with the sort of wait that GTA fans have for the latest edition of that franchise.
The game will improve in the future
As with every beta of virtually every game, there will be bugs and issues that need fixing, which is one of the purposes of the beta in the first place.
Unfortunately, due to time constraints, I was only able to play FM26 for a few hours after its release last night. For me—and I might add my 13-year-old—the UI seemed slightly alien.
However, with it being a new game, that was always going to be the case. SI are attempting to modernise the game, which for me is not terrible. Hopefully, the UI will improve in the future, and the major glitches will be fixed.
One thing I liked was the improved graphics on matchday. The games looked a lot more realistic than in previous games, which, let’s be honest, wasn’t hard.
The players exhibited slightly more realistic movements, and it felt smoother than FM24. This was one of the things I was looking forward to the most. While others have complained, I like the matchday experience.
Football Manager 2026 may not have made the best start. However, there are some promising signs that after a few patches, the game will improve. It would be harsh to write off FM26 so soon, especially since it hasn’t even been officially released yet.
Hopefully, in a few months, we will have a far more stable game, with fewer glitches, which will be the start of an evolution of the FM series.
What have you made of the FM26 beta so far?
