Football Manager 26 arrives with one of the biggest overhauls in years, marking the series' move to a new graphics engine and bringing deep changes to the way we play. Here we have gathered the main new features announced by Sports Interactive for this edition.
New graphics engine: Unity
For the first time in the history of the series, Football Manager has been built using the Unity engine. This change brings a complete overhaul of the visual experience, with a more modern interface, more realistic player animations and a much more immersive overall presentation, both on the management screens and on match days.
Tactics: In Possession and Out of Possession
FM26 introduces what is described as the most ambitious tactical innovation in years. For the first time, you can set different formations and strategies depending on whether your team has the ball or not, mirroring the way top managers really work. This lets you build much more sophisticated systems, with more realistic transitions between the phases of play.
More immersive match days
Player animations and on-pitch behaviour have been improved substantially, bringing more personality and drama to matches. The movement engine has been reworked to create more believable moments and stories on the pitch.
New interface and the Portal
The interface has been completely redesigned, with a cleaner and more modern look. The highlight is the new Portal, which works as a kind of "front door" to the whole football world inside the game, bringing together news, results and relevant information in a far more accessible way.
Women's football integrated
One of the biggest new features in this edition is the arrival of women's football as an integral part of the same FM world, rather than as a separate mode. Managers can now explore new women's leagues and teams, discover emerging talent and manage careers in women's football with the same depth as in men's football.
National teams on the road to the 2026 World Cup
With the FIFA World Cup 2026™ approaching (to be played in the United States, Canada and Mexico), FM26 brings back and strengthens international management, now with an official tournament licence: authentic badges, match balls, kits and broadcast graphics. It is the perfect chance to try to lead your national team to glory before (or during) the World Cup.
More immersive manager creation
Before the first whistle, you can now create your manager with a level of detail and immersion never seen before in the series, setting a personality and management style that will shape how your career unfolds from day one.
Recruitment Hub and TransferRoom
The transfer market gets a professional tool: the Recruitment Hub, now powered by technology from TransferRoom, offers a redesigned menu and far more effective player search, giving you greater control and a better overview of the whole recruitment process.
Compatibility with older saves
If you are coming from FM23 or FM24, there is good news: FM26 lets you import saves from those editions, so you can carry on with your career without starting from scratch.
Available on several platforms
Football Manager 26 is available on Steam, Epic Games, Microsoft Store, Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation 5, Apple Arcade and Nintendo Switch, with dedicated versions for console (FM26 Console), mobile and Touch.
Keep an eye on FMPortugal.net as we explore each of these new features in detail while we play FM26!
