Football Manager 26 is confirmed for release, after Football Manager 25 was binned earlier this year.
After the debacle of cancelling the release of Football Manager 25 earlier this year, SEGA has announced that its latest addition to the classic football management simulation game Football Manager 26 is confirmed for release.
While the details of the release date are still unknown, the first trailer for Football Manager 26 has dropped, and SEGA promises new visual advancements for its match day features, as the franchise finally moves to the Unity engine.
For the first time too, the Premier League licence will be extended to the Football Manager franchise, meaning that avid football fans can finally manage the likes of Liverpoool F.C. or Manchester United F.C. with official logos, kits, and photos instead of generic logos or blank headshots.
The announcement of Football Manager 26 followed a disappointing announcement from developer Sports Interactive and SEGA; they had cancelled the release of Football Manager 25 in February earlier this year, even after delaying the release date of Football Manager 25 twice from late 2024 to March 2025.
The cancellation of Football Manager 25, according to Sports Interactive, was due to the difficulties of meeting the standards Sports Interactive had set out themselves, especially after Sports Interactive had earlier announced that they were moving to the Unity Engine, and they got an official partnership with the Premier League for Football Manager 25.
The move to the Unity engine was a particularly huge undertaking, since Sports Interactive would have to lay out entirely new foundations for the game, but it was unfortunately too short of a timeframe for Sports Interactive and Football Manager 25, and the disappointment was palpable for fans of the longstanding football simulation franchise.
However, with the announcement of Football Manager 26 and its first trailer, fans now have a small glimpse of what the Unity engine can bring to the franchise. While the trailer revealed nothing significant except for a first look at a match day coming soon, SEGA also promises to announce brand new features in the coming months.
So, if you are a huge fan of finding the next wonderkid in the football world, or if you would like to do a Wrexham run and manage a non-professional team to the pinnacles of the Championship or (hopefully) the Premier League, Football Manager 26 is officially back on the menu!
