It’s been a trend for sports games to go through the choppy waters of controversy in the past few years, as the likes of NBA 2K and FIFA before its rebrand under the FC umbrella have found. However, in the case of Football Manager and its development team, Sports Interactive, it’s out of character for the brand to consistently make headlines for all the wrong reasons. From the initial delay announcement back in October (the first delay in a significantly long period for the franchise) to the outright cancelation of the series’ latest entry, many have questioned the developer’s ability to ship a working and enjoyable product – doubts that will likely linger till Football Manager 2026‘s release rolls around.
The first cracks in the franchise’s previously iron-clad November release window started to appear a few weeks before FM 25‘s proposed launch. Football Manager‘s characteristically dynamic match engine looked bland and unfinished, while finer details like stat screens also lacked the simple but informative design that has become synonymous with Football Manager‘s identity. With this botched preview in mind, there was little surprise when the first delay became public. However, despite all the notable challenges a March 2025 release date would face, few anticipated the complete scrapping of the title. Now that the worst has happened to Sports Interactive, the developer will have to pull out all the stops to make Football Manager 2026 one of the best entries in the franchise.
Related
6 Save Ideas To Try Before Football Manager 2025
With delays to Football Manager 25, what are the best save ideas to try before its release?
In the aftermath of FM 25‘s delay back in November, Sports Interactive had two logical paths; update FM 24‘s database and bin FM 25, or stick to the script and deliver the finished product in March. A large section of Football Manager faithful preferred the former due to scheduling constraints – as it was easy to see a March release date becoming the new run of the mill. Now that this option is out of the picture, the focus can finally shift to FM 26, which is under more pressure than any installment in franchise history.
The reasons for this pressure are obvious from both a developer and fan perspective. For Sports Interactive, Football Manager is its flagship product, which means the franchise is the company’s primary source of income. Scrapping FM 25 practically ensures a lean year in terms of fiscal income – an unprecedented event in Sports Interactive’s history. It’s easy to envision the potential fallout; cost-cutting, layoffs, and a host of other measures being implemented to balance the books in a year the developer didn’t make any money from a new release.
However, with the fan base already significantly displeased at Sports Interactive’s lack of communication, cost-cutting at this critical juncture could be a fatal blow. It’s still unknown why FM 25 failed to the point of cancelation, but its absence from the yearly installment lineup means FM 26 has to go above and beyond to justify the long waiting period fans have had to endure – especially since the developer refused the option of a comprehensive update to Football Manager 2024 to compensate for the gap between releases.
While fan-made updates have formed something of a bridge in terms of updated transfers and ratings to make FM 24 saves more immersive, the developer’s refusal to craft an official update even when it became clear behind the scenes that FM 25 was untenable has left a bitter taste in many mouths.
With this in mind, patience is understandably wearing thin, and this means that Football Manager 2026 needs a launch free from any delays or bugs to erase the memory of FM 25‘s debacles. A repeat of FM 25‘s handling, both in development and press runs, could spell the beginning of the end for the Football Manager franchise, and that’s something Sports Interactive will surely want to avoid. A smooth, content-filled launch will be essential for FM 26, as it essentially has to compensate for its missing predecessor while simultaneously being a good game in its own right.
Simulation
Strategy
Sports
- Developer(s)
-
Sports Interactive