Football Manager 26 is about to be released in beta—which makes boss Miles Jacobson “both very excited and nervous.” Because he and his team cannot afford to fail.
It was like a big bang in the community when Sports Interactive announced in February that FM25 was being discontinued. For the first time, the developer had to deviate from its annual release cycle—the switch to the Unity Engine proved too much of a challenge. As a result, there is now a lot of pressure on Football Manager 26. The beta version of FM26 will be released on Thursday—and it’s already causing Miles Jacobson’s emotions to run high. In an interview with FM.Zweierkette, the studio director of Sports Interactive rates his emotional state on a scale of 1 to 10: “Today I’ve already been at 2, 5, 8, and 10. Right now, I’m probably around 7.”
Between 2 and 10: “Life is a rollercoaster”
Jacobson gives the confirmation of the FIFA partnership, which also includes the license for the 2026 World Cup, a positive maximum rating of 10. “But there was also a bug this morning that we thought had been fixed, but it came back—that was a 2 moment,” says the FM boss, explaining the downside of the current pre-release phase.
Jacobson uses the 2000 hit “Life is a Rollercoaster” by Boyzone singer Ronan Keating as a metaphor.
He says he is “both very excited and nervous” about the release of the beta. That’s because Football Manager 26 is “not a sequel to FM24” – rather, it can be thought of “as a reboot.” According to Jacobson, “everything has changed.” This could pose some hurdles for experienced and passionate players at the beginning.
Fans “who play 500, 600, or 1,000 hours a year” would need “significantly longer to familiarize themselves with the user interface. Because they have to forget everything they know.” While previous Football Manager games were designed more for absolute experts, the new FM26 will be more beginner-friendly.
“Sonic the Hedgehog” decides
Despite strong pre-order numbers, this could have a negative impact on financial success. And consequently on the future of the series. “At the end of the day, our studio belongs to SEGA – so Sonic the Hedgehog decides, not me,” explains Jacobson. “If this game flops, Sonic will be angry with me—and then that might be it.”
Because: “If we don’t sell anything, there probably won’t be an FM27, right?” he suggests. It’s a grim scenario, but one that the studio director himself doesn’t consider too realistic: “I think the game is really good.” If die-hard fans of the previous installments give FM26 a chance, they’ll recognize that too.
Jacobson raves about “FMPedia”
In addition to the Unity Engine and many major changes, small details are also intended to ensure the success of the new Football Manager. “The way the ‘back’ and ‘forward’ arrows work, i.e., the navigation keys, is really important and well done,” reports Jacobson. The Football Manager creator also raves about “FMPedia.”
“FMPedia means that you can no longer just search for players or clubs in the search bar. For example, you can enter ‘tactics’ or ‘scouting’ and get a description of what that is—plus links to the corresponding screens in the game,” says Jacobson. A “central point of contact for the game and the game world.”
