Football Manager fans go wild as major FM26 update drops after five months of silence

Fans of the iconic football video game Football Manager (FM26) were quick to react after a trailer was posted on the game’s official social media pages after five months of silence.

FM users have been eagerly anticipating the release of the latest version of the game, but were left disappointed back in February after FM25 was cancelled following two delays.

In a statement posted to social media at the time, developers Sports Interactive apologised for letting fans down.

"Due to a variety of challenges that we've been open about to date, and many more unforeseen, we currently haven't achieved what we set out to do in enough areas of the game, despite the phenomenal efforts of our team,” part of the statement read.

“Each decision to delay the release was made with the aim of getting he game closer to the desired level, but, as we approached critical milestones at the turn of the year, it became unmistakably clear that we would not achieve the standard required, even with the adjusted timeline.”

The game was planned to be released in November 2024 before being pushed back and subsequently cancelled. As a result, the 2024/25 season was the first without a new release since the 2004/05 campaign, when the series began.

At long last, on Wednesday (August 13), FM’s X account, which had been inactive since March, released a 30-second trailer previewing the next edition of the game.

"The wait has been long. The build-up impossible to ignore," commentator Peter Drury can be heard saying in the clip.

"So much has changed, but that feeling? It never left.”

An official release date is still not certain, but according to FourFourTwo, it is expected to be later this year.

And fans were quick to react to the preview on social media.

One said: “It's back. And it's beautiful.”

Another added: “We're back. The engine looks sick. Give more.”

A third claimed: “Unfortunately, I’ve switched to career mode full-time due to the wait. I’m actually so disappointed in this franchise. I was a manager of 12 years over all the FM games, but sadly, the quality of career mode, the reliability of career mode has surpassed this game now.”