Football Manager 26 Preorders Are Now Live After Skipping Last Year
After ghosting fans in 2024 by cancelling FM25, Football Manager is finally back off the sidelines. FM26 has a confirmed release date of November 4, 2025, and yes, you can already preorder it.
Where to Preorder Football Manager 26
FM26 is launching on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. FM26 Touch is Switch-only, while FM26 Mobile is Netflix-exclusive. Basically, unless you’re gaming on a toaster, you’ll be able to play.
For now, preorders are open for PC through Steam, Epic Games Store, and Fanatical (Steam key). Console preorders are “coming soon,” which is PR-speak for “sit tight and wait your turn”.
For those on PC, your best option is currently to preorder through Fanatical, which has FM26 down to £40.99 in the UK and $44.99 in the US. That’s 18% off the list price, and a tidy saving if you were almost certainly going to buy the game.
It’s the best discount amongst the bunch, with Epic and Steam currently offering 10% off for those who preorder. It’s also a Steam key, so you can immediately quell those fears of juggling it in any other libraries.
What’s New in FM26
FM26 isn’t just showing up late to the party; it’s arriving with a full makeover. The series is moving to the Unity engine, bringing a big graphical upgrade and more realistic animations. Sports Interactive dropped a Match Day First Look in September, showing off the new tech in action.
Women’s football is finally making its debut too, with major leagues from England, Spain, Germany, France, and the US expected. Tactics are getting deeper as well, with new player roles, more formation tweaks, and control over how your squad plays with or without the ball. Translation: even more ways to yell at your virtual fullbacks for ignoring instructions.
Expect the usual UI polish and quality-of-life updates, but FM26’s real pitch is clear, after a year warming the bench, it wants to be seen as a proper next-gen reboot, not just another spreadsheet simulator with vague grass background.
If obsessing over player stats on your commute sounds like heaven, FM26 Touch also lands on Switch December 4, while FM26 Mobile arrives on Netflix, meaning you can now play Football Manager on the same app you binge Squid Game (yay?).
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Robert Anderson is Senior Commerce Editor and IGN’s resident deals expert on games, collectibles, trading card games, and more. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter/X or Bluesky.
