Football Manager 26 introduces game-changing feature that will make FM series history

Football Manager 26 will see the return of a major feature later this month - with two major changes to what players are used to.

The game was released back in November, marking the first Football Manager release in two years after FM25 was cancelled.

Sports Interactive studio director Miles Jacobson said that 'things went wrong' during the development of FM25, which was due to be the first game developed in the Unity game engine.

Jacobson told The Athletic that he played an early build of the game, which was due to be released in March 2025, shortly before Christmas but decided 'within an hour' that it couldn't be released.

"I literally sat there and just couldn't find things in my own game," he said. "It was pretty embarrassing.

"It was within an hour that I sat there and thought: 'We can't release'."

SI announced in September 2024 that international management would not be a part of FM25, stating that the data - which showed only 5.6 per cent of PC players played the mode - proved that it needed to be significantly altered.

It was also absent at the beginning of FM26, even though SI signed an official licensing agreement with FIFA ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

Now, international management will officially return to the Football Manager series on May 26, under three weeks before the World Cup gets underway in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Crucially, it will be the first time in the history of FM that the World Cup will be fully licensed.

Official branding, broadcast graphics, licensed kits (when officially released) and even the World Cup match ball will also be part of the package that users will experience.

The FIFA World Cup is already licensed in FM26 but is not currently playable (Image: Football Manager 26)

And in another series first, players will be able to manage women's international teams for the first time, with women's football being officially introduced to the FM series at FM26's launch.

The list of national teams that will be available to manage has yet to be announced.

"International Management will return as a free game update for Football Manager 26, Football Manager 26 Console and Football Manager 26 Touch on May 26," Jacobson said in a statement.

"Hitting this date is subject to the relevant platform submissions and licensing approvals, which also includes individual kit manufacturers. Our team will share full feature details and re-confirm the launch date shortly.

"The initial launch of International Management in FM26 will be supplemented by a second update in June to finalise licensed assets, including the official 26-man 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament squads for participating nations."

England will be among the nations who can be managed on FM26 (Image: Football Manager 26)

Jacobson also addressed criticism of the new UI, which was overhauled ahead of FM26 but has drawn some complaints over making it harder to navigate around the game than in previous versions.

"For our next release, we've got a clear set of priorities, informed by the recurring pain points you've raised," Jacobson explains.

"Immersion is the main element we're focused on - be that game world, UI navigation or the UI itself. We are looking to elevate all of them and are making good headway.

"Everyone at the Studio is committed to rebuilding your full confidence in us, but we know that trust is earned not given. So, we will speak with you about our work when the time is right and look forward to sharing updates with you."