First Football Manager 26 trailer shows it was worth the wait

Jack Stewart, Senior Editor

Last Updated: 04/09/2025

Sports Interactive have revealed the new-look gameplay and improved graphics for Football Manager 26 in a new trailer.

The trailer debuted the game’s new 3D match engine after moving to Unity for the first time.

FM26 appears to be a huge leap in graphics, which has many excited for the highly anticipated game.

And the trailer promised that the game will deliver ‘deeper immersion, richer atmosphere, fluid football, and pure drama.

Many have been patiently waiting for news on the game following significant delays.

Sports Interactive took the bold and controversial decision to cancel Football Manager 25 and not release a game last year.

This was mostly due to the new Unity engine and the game not being up to the standards that the developers were hoping for.

EA Sports has tried to capitalise on this with a ton of new features for Career Mode in EA FC 26.

However, the new graphics have many excited for FM26, especially when compared to Football Manager 24.

Though some are also concerned about whether their laptops will still be able to handle the new game.

And whether the game itself will be able to run smoothly or not while handling both the 3D match engine and the complex tactics options.

Though there will likely still be a 2D graphics option in the settings to hopefully make things easier.

In any case, it has already been revealed what specifications FM26 will need on the game’s Steam page.

The game will require a minimum of 4GB of RAM and around 20GB of storage.

It will require Windows 10 or 11 on PC and OS 11 Big Sur or higher for Mac.

For processors, PC Desktops will need an Intel Core i3-530 or AMD FX-4100, and Windows laptops will need an Intel Core i3-330M or AMD A6-5200.

Meanwhile, Mac players will need an Apple M1 or Intel Core M processor.

When will Football Manager 26 release?

No release date has yet been confirmed, other than the fact that the game will release in late 2025.

Typically, Football Manager games usually release sometime in November.

So expect FM26 to release in the first or second week of November 2025.

How much will Football Manager cost?

The Steam page is up for FM26, but the game can’t be pre-ordered just yet.

This means the price for the game has not yet been announced.

Football Manager 24 cost, and still costs, £44.99 at full price and this will likely be the same for the new game.

Unless the new graphics engine and the current state of the world cause FM26 to increase in price.

Jack Stewart, Senior Editor

In my seven years of esports writing, I've introuduced esports coverage to newspapers, interviewed some of the biggest names in the industry, and driven viewers mad with the puns in my YouTube scripts. I'm most proud of the latter.

All Posts By Jack Stewart