Football Manager 26 launches to Mostly Negative rating on Steam

[kevin1]

Football Manager 26 received a “Mostly Negative” rating on Steam with 7,921 user reviews and a Generally Unfavorable user score on Metacritic based on 57 user ratings, along with a Metascore of 72 out of 100 points based on 28 critic reviews.

According to player reviews, the football management simulator was heavily review-bombed for missing multiple features from previous installments and for a poor UI experience.

Football Manager 26 | Official Launch Trailer | #FM26
The game launched for Windows PC and macOS PCs via Steam and Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, tablets and smartphones (Android and iOS) and even mixed-reality headset Apple Vision Pro.

Notably, Football Manager 26 landed in the catalogues of three subscription services on its launch day, including Xbox Game Pass, Netflix, and Apple Arcade.

Developed by Sports Interactive and published by Sega, the first game in the series built on the Unity engine and the first to adopt a two-digit naming format as FM26, similar to the EA Sports FC series, became the twenty-second title in the series, following Football Manager 2024, as Football Manager 2025 was canceled.

[Capybara_Capybara]

FM26 feels more like a downgrade than a new release.

[The_Walking_Dead]

Removing core features was a brutal mistake for longtime fans.

[Revenant]

UI issues alone explain half of the review bombing.