FM26 Hands-On: Alpha Version Media Impressions

After the cancellation of Football Manager 2025, Sports Interactive’s Football Manager 26 is arriving next November 4th not just as a new chapter for the beloved series but as a complete reinvention. Built from the ground up on the Unity engine with a radically redesigned user interface, new match engine, and the long-awaited inclusion of women’s football, FM26 feels like a reboot 20 years in the making.

But if early previews from multiple outlets that already tested the game are anything to go by, this new era brings both exciting progress and plenty of growing pains.

A Complete Rebuild for a New Generation

Studio director Miles Jacobson has been clear: FM26 isn’t merely an upgrade, it’s an entirely new game. The move to the Unity engine has transformed everything from graphics and performance to the very structure of how the game is navigated

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The redesign, Jacobson explained, was inspired not by console players but by the way people consume information in the age of TikTok and Twitter. Attention spans are shorter, and players expect key information instantly.

“We just wanted something where people could find the information they needed really quickly,” Jacobson said. “But if they want to go deeper, they still can, exactly the way websites do things.”

That philosophy underpins the new dashboard-style interface, where information is presented in modular “cards” and pop-up windows instead of the old spreadsheet-heavy menus. A new Bookmarks system, secondary navigation bar, and improved search engine are designed to help users jump between menus in seconds.

The result is a UI that’s cleaner, faster, and more flexible but also jarring for veterans, who have spent years perfecting their muscle memory in older versions.

Unity Engine: A Visual Step Forward With Technical Stumbles

Visually, FM26 is the most striking version to date. Animations are smoother, lighting more realistic, and the presentation finally feels modern. Player movements like chest controls, headers or link-up play appear more natural, and stadiums feel livelier.

Most reviewers praised the addition of the continuous 2D match view between highlights, allowing managers to see how their team performs across an entire match rather than relying on stats or text commentary. It’s a subtle but powerful change for tactical players.

However, the early build was riddled with bugs and glitches. Player faces often looked “creepy,” crowd models were lifeless and performance hitches broke immersion. In some sessions, gameplay froze mid-match before snapping back into motion seconds later.

Sports Interactive reportedly had over 400 known bugs to squash before release, with Jacobson promising these would be fixed in time for launch.

Dual-Phase Tactics: Depth and Freedom

The most transformative gameplay change is the introduction of dual-phase tactics — allowing managers to set completely different formations and player roles for when the team is in possession and out of possession.

This innovation brings the series closer than ever to real-world tactical complexity. You can now create systems that morph between shapes, for example pressing high in a 4-4-2 out of possession and then shifting into a 3-2-5 when attacking.

The system is brilliant but demanding. It adds enormous flexibility for tactical purists, but for newcomers, it’s another layer of complexity. Some long-time player roles, like mezzala or libero, have been renamed or redefined, and not everyone is a fan of the new terminology.

Reviewers described it as both a tactician’s dream and a newcomer’s nightmare, rewarding patience, experimentation, and long hours on the training pitch.

Women’s Football Joins the Game

After years of development, women’s football finally debuts in FM26. It’s seamlessly integrated: men’s and women’s leagues coexist within the same universe, managers and coaches can move between them, and gameplay systems are identical across both.

Motion capture sessions with female players mean animations look authentic, not simply reskinned male models.

However, coverage is limited for now with only the English Women’s Super League 1 & 2 and a few other leagues are included. The smaller database makes scouting and transfers challenging, but it’s a strong foundation for future expansion.

A Divisive User Experience

The new interface is one of the most controversial aspects of FM26. Its sleek, modular layout looks modern, but many long-time fans describe it as less efficient and missing years of quality-of-life refinements built up over decades.

Reviewers noted issues like:

• No quick “back” button within pop-up windows.
• Substitutions resetting if a player profile is opened mid-change.
• Harder-to-access player attributes and missing visual indicators for key stats.
• Some menus requiring more clicks than before.

These frustrations, combined with bugs and performance hiccups, make FM26 feel unfinished despite its potential.

A Broader Audience, A Tougher Balancing Act

Football Manager’s audience has exploded in recent years thanks to its arrival on Game Pass, Apple Arcade, and Netflix. FM23 reached 7 million players; FM24 tripled that to 20 million.

That massive growth has created a split in the fanbase between old-school football obsessives who live for deep data and new players who prefer quick-hit experiences.

Jacobson compares it to “a pop band whose music hasn’t changed, but whose audience has.” FM26 tries to serve both groups, the hardcore tacticians and the “TikTok generation” who want instant gratification, a balancing act that could determine the series’ future.

The Verdict So Far: Ambitious but Unsteady

Across all early previews, one message stands out: Football Manager 26 is ambitious, innovative, and risky.

It’s clearly built for longevity, a platform for the next decade of the series but it also feels like a work in progress. Beneath the excitement for new tactics, smoother visuals, and women’s football lies concern over bugs, missing features, and a UI that alienates long-time fans.

Still, nearly every reviewer agreed on one thing: despite the hiccups, it’s still fun. The “just one more match” magic remains alive.

Conclusion: A Brave New Beginning

Football Manager 26 is shaping up to be the most divisive release in the series’ history. For newcomers, it’s a modernized, more approachable entry point; for veterans, it’s a massive learning curve wrapped in potential.

If Sports Interactive can iron out the bugs and refine its new systems, FM26 could mark the start of a golden new era. If not, it risks being remembered as a bold but messy transition, the awkward first step toward something great.

Either way, FM26 feels like the most important Football Manager in decades.