Can update with 300 fixes save disappointing Football Manager 26?
Football Manager 26 (FM26) looked extremely promising with its 3D match engine, but, so far, it has been bitterly disappointing.
After Football Manager 25 was cancelled, a trailer had many believing the long-awaited FM26 was going to be worth the wait.
However, the FM26 beta and the game itself proved to be frustrating for players with lots of bugs and an unintuitive UI.
As a result, Sports Interactive has released a huge FM26 update with over 300 bug fixes, now live on the full game after initially releasing for the beta first.
FM26 releases as one of the worst-rated games on Steam ever
After furious backlash to the public beta, Football Manager 26 fans were livid to discover that the full game was exactly the same.
The game currently has a “mostly negative” score on Steam after more than 3,000 reviews, with only 24% of the users positive about the game.
FM26’s dreadful reviews have caused the game to be listed among the 10 worst-rated games on Steam.
It currently sits at 7th with a score worse than the controversial Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection.
It certainly isn’t a good look that there has been a two-year wait for the usual annual release and the game has been full of bugs.
The bug-tracker from the beta had well over 7,500 bugs reported, and the full-price game appears to be the exact same build.
FM25 was cancelled due to Sports Interactive struggling to get the new UI and engine working.
However, the UI still appears to be an issue, as countless players complained that the game’s complex menus had them confused.
This had players questioning whether simple features like team meetings had been removed or were just impossible to find.
What has been fixed in the FM26 update?
The new update with over 300 bug fixes and quality of life improvements thanks to the extensive feedback from the beta.
Players are reporting that the game finally feels ‘playable’ after the significant patch.
Highlights of the update include substantial crash and stability fixes as well as multiple text overlap and misalignment fixes.
There are also supposedly fixes to matches freezing at the start of the second half in Single-Player Career.
One popular change is the added options of 1.5x Match Speed during highlights and 4x Match Speed between highlights.
Sports Interactive has also changed the default colouring of attributes to make them more distinguishable and added customisable attribute colour preferences.
Additionally, the update has fixed an issue where a player would reject the asking price they had set for themselves.
And even small changes like manager attire choices saving correctly, and set piece attributes showing up during free kicks should make the game more enjoyable.
However, the biggest update of all is an upcoming change with most of the playerbase has been begging for.
Sports Interactive has confirmed that the ‘legacy’ option to use the spacebar to advance through messages is coming soon.
FM26 console players abandoned with no update
Various players had chalked up FM26’s awful UI to SI wanting to appeal to console and controller players more.
However, players have since discovered that the console version of the game is potentially even worse.
And there is no word on when/if the console version will receive the same 300+ changes update.
And supposedly, FM26 touch players have it even worse than that.
Apparently, there isn’t a single section of the fan base that is happy with the state that FM26 has released in.
Is this update enough to save FM26?
The huge update has at least given FM26 players hope that the game can eventually fulfil its lofty potential.
Multiple YouTubers spent a lot of time playing the beta and said the game felt much better following the update.
Jack ‘WorkTheSpace’ Peachman says he’s had his ‘faith restored’ following the quality of life updates.
And another creator, Ben ‘DoctorBenjy’ Carr, was also upbeat, saying:
“Gotta say, 300+fixes and streaming it tonight, it did feel more responsive, game flow improved simply because of the speed in which you’re able to do things.”
Though he added, the game still needs work:
“Still 100’s of fixes required, but a good move in the right direction, make no mistake though, we’re still playing a beta.”
Despite these changes, it likely won’t be enough to convince fans that Sports Interactive are moving in the right direction.
Multiple players have claimed FM26 has lost its essence, feeling more like a game and less like the management-simulator they’re accustomed to.
Perhaps its due to players missing features due to the UI, but it seems FM26 feels less immersive.
Players feel like they don’t control matches anymore, but instead spectate the 3D match graphics.
Though overwhelming, most players are very happy about the 3D match engine, which itself has added a different kind of immersion.
Players can watch their tactics unfold in real time.
And thanks to a new partnership with FIFA, international management and the World Cup is coming to FM26.
There is plenty to be optimistic about, especially with how quickly this update has rolled out.
But Sports Interactive has a lot of work to do to win back fans’ trust after a messy couple of releases.
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