Sports Interactive has been working overtime to improve the player experience following Football Manager 26’s turbulent launch. The studio’s latest announcements detail both the recently released 26.0.6 update and significant changes to the roadmap for the coming weeks.
Taking into account feedback about the game’s stability, match engine, and UI complaints, the development team has revised their planned update schedule to allow for more thorough quality control processes.
Here’s everything you need to know about FM26’s current state and upcoming updates.
Why Was the Next Update Delayed?
In Sports Interactive’s latest announcement, the studio confirmed that the expected weekly update would not arrive on its originally planned date. The primary reason cited was unexpected side effects discovered during the loading process.
The development team emphasized that the next update contains significantly more changes, necessitating additional time in quality control to minimize potential issues.
The Revised Schedule:
- Next Week: The update will first be made available to players through the Steam Public Beta channel.
- Week of December 8: Following beta testing, the update will roll out as a full release across all platforms.
This update will include data adjustments, match engine improvements, and balance changes made in response to community feedback.
December Match Engine Changes
One of players’ most anticipated areas—the Match Engine—is set for a major update in December. The announcement highlights the following changes:
- Tight Angle Shots: Adjustments to the frequency of players shooting at the near post from tight angles.
- Defender Reactions: Improvements to defenders’ reactions against opposition dribbling.
- Defensive Line: Tweaks to the line defenders hold when defending in their own box.
- Aerial Duels: Improved logic for defenders’ decision-making with headers when not under pressure.
- Counter-Attacks: Enhanced attacking movement of players during counter-attacking transitions.
UI and User Experience Improvements
FM26’s user interface has been one of the most criticized aspects by the community. The developers have acknowledged that the UI isn’t currently reaching its intended potential and that areas requiring too many clicks or difficult navigation will be improved.
Planned quality of life (QoL) improvements include:
- Spacebar Functionality: Restoration of the spacebar’s previous function for advancing through messages.
- Squad Management: Return of the ability to save multiple starting XIs.
- Passing Maps: The controversial Passing Maps feature is currently under re-evaluation.
Latest Release: Update 26.0.6 and Details
Prior to the major December update, version 26.0.6 has been released for PC and Mac users. This update contains over 250 fixes, with the return of the youth team training calendar and the addition of FPS limit options being particularly noteworthy.
Highlighted Fixes:
- FPS Limit: A new preference option allows players to select their desired FPS value or match their monitor’s refresh rate.
- Wage Demands: Improved logic behind player wage demands, particularly for lower leagues and youth players.
- Online Mode: Fixed freezing issues in online games using large custom databases.
- Visual Bugs: Corrected issues such as substitute goalkeepers appearing in outfield kits or away teams showing home icons in the in-match tactics planner.
The comprehensive changelist for the update is as follows:
USER INTERFACE & TECHNICAL
- Extensive UI polish and refinement implemented.
- Wide-ranging crash and stability fixes applied.
- Fixed freezes at half-time during human vs. human online matches.
- Added FPS limit preference option in Settings menu.
- Improvements made to in-game translations.
- Fixed soft lock when attempting to view past matches.
- Tweaks made to general screen flow.
- Added preference option to adjust crowd quality.
GAMEPLAY & RULES
- Training Calendar restored for youth teams.
- Improved logic behind player wage demands (for both lower leagues and young players).
- Fixed incorrect coefficient points being added following 2nd leg results in European knockout stages.
- Fixed association coefficients not being correctly allocated for qualifying and playoff stages of European competitions.
- Fixed current season coefficient total displaying as zero until season end.
- Adjusted frequency of rain during matches.
- Snow now appears around stadiums, not just on the pitch.
- Fixed crash when continuing with UAE clubs during advanced game setup.
MATCH & TACTICS
- Loading tactics during a match now functions correctly.
- Fixed issue preventing assignment of shirt numbers to loaned players.
- Fixed home shirt icon always displaying in in-match tactics planner regardless of kit worn.
- Data Hub > Last Match > Summary now displays correct match data.
- Fixed all substitutes displaying as “S1” in team talks.
- Fixed Ligue 1 trophy image displaying for incorrect competitions.
- Passing Risk instruction now correctly locked as “Take More Risks” for Midfield Playmaker role.
- Fixed substitute goalkeeper displaying in outfield kit in tactics planner.
TRANSFERS & CONTRACTS
- Fixed ability to create recruitment focus for women’s competitions when managing men’s teams, and vice versa.
- Refined AI logic for Saudi Arabian clubs’ transfer activity.
- Improved squad-building logic for top-tier clubs.
- Players now more appropriately decline contract negotiations upfront when there’s a large wage discrepancy.
- Fixed finance graph always displaying in USD.
- Club > Finances now displays correct income and expenditure data.
- Fixed sponsorship end dates displaying as 1/1/1900.
- Fixed ability to renegotiate transfer/loan fees despite agreed contract terms.
IN-GAME EDITOR (IGE)
- Fixed editing functionality for players who are also staff members at the same club.
- Corrected stadium condition field editing.
- Club foreground/background color edits now save correctly.
- Fixed IGE icons appearing even when feature is disabled.
- “Maximize Existing Familiarity” now updates instantly.