I think it’s fair to say we’re counting down the days to Football Manager 2026 now that Sports Interactive has released the first teaser for the long-awaited next game in the much-loved football management simulation series. But just when can we expect the game to be fully released?
With a sprinkle of speculation, here’s how things are lining up for the Football Manager 2026 release date.
What is the Football Manager 2026 Launch Date?
The only 100% honest answer here is that we do not know the official date Football Manager 2026 will launch. However, we can make an educated guess.
Many hoped that following the cancellation of Football Manager 2025 due to the transition to Unity amongst other challenges, we’d have the next game in the series earlier in the 2025/2026 season that we’ve ever had it before.
But it wouldn’t make sense for the game to emerge until at least the transfer deadline has closed, at least not in my opinion.
The teaser video emerging in mid-August has set a bit of an expectation that Sports Interactive are somewhat confident of hitting at least their traditional timeline. And that means we should have Football Manager 2026 be the first week of November. Here’s why.
Historical Launch Dates of Football Manager
Football Manager first came into the world in 2005 with a first week of November launch. For a couple of years, the game bounced around between mid-October to mid-November launches until Football Manager 2015. Since then, nearly all Football Manager games have launched in November.
Typically, Sports Interactive has released a limited Beta demo of the game 2 weeks before launch. The Beta lets you play up until the January transfer window. Pre-order customers usually got priority early access.
Given Sports Interactive has started talking about Football Manager 2026 already, in mid-August, I believe we’re at least back to normal, and looking at a launch in the first week of November. Despite some concerns that the game still isn’t quite finished.
It may be a cut feeling, it may be due to Myles reappearing on social media again after a year in the wilderness.
Take all of this with a pinch of salt, but I have a feeling (just a feeling) we’ll be gaming well in time for Christmas. If you think that sounds good, you can check out our early speculation on FM 2026 required specs.
