Football Manager 26 Gets Big Bug-Fixing Update as Review Bombing Continues

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As a big Football Manager 26 fan, I’m glad to see they’ve already released a pretty big update! It fixes a lot of the really annoying bugs we’ve all been talking about. It’s not perfect yet, there are still some issues, but it’s a good start and shows they’re listening.

After a year off, the latest installment in the popular Football Manager series, Football Manager 26, launched on PC, consoles, and mobile devices on November 4th. However, the launch was rocky, with players quickly leaving negative reviews across all platforms. Common complaints included problems with the user interface, missing features, bugs, and an overall lack of refinement. Currently, the game has over 3,000 “Overwhelmingly Negative” reviews on Steam, and averages just 1.83 and 2.1 stars on the PlayStation and Xbox/Microsoft Stores.

Football Manager 26 Gets First Post-Launch Patch, But It’s Beta-Only For Now

Following the recent negative reviews surrounding Football Manager 26, the first update for the game has been released on November 5th. Version 26.0.4 fixes a variety of technical problems, including issues with the game’s interface and player training that fans have reported since the game launched. Currently, the update is available only on Steam through the game’s public beta.

The latest beta update for Football Manager includes a lengthy list of changes – 66 items in total, according to Sports Interactive. These changes cover a range of improvements, from fixing visual glitches like text overlapping on the screen to significantly boosting the game’s stability and reducing crashes. The update also corrects many translation errors and addresses issues causing matches to freeze at halftime in Career mode. While this freezing problem was first noticed in the October beta, the latest update hasn’t completely fixed it, as multiple factors can still cause it to happen.

Update 26.0.4 brings new features for FM26, like the ability to change attribute colors and faster highlights during matches (1.5x speed). It also fixes problems with scouting, player substitutions, and improves the look and functionality of the Individual Training and Squad Planner screens.

Football Manager 2026 marks a significant change for the series, moving away from the Match Engine – which had been used for around 17 years – and adopting Unity. Because of this switch, many players anticipated more bugs than usual. However, the negative reviews suggest the game launched with even more issues than expected. Sports Interactive plans to release updates over the next few months to fix these problems, but it’s uncertain if these improvements will be enough to change players’ opinions.

Football Manager Update 26.0.4 Patch Notes

  • Substantial crash and stability fixes.
  • Numerous string translation fixes.
  • Numerous text overlaps and misalignment fixes.
  • Numerous tile/card polish.
  • Further fixes to Matches Freezing at start of the second half in Single-Player Career
  • Added a preference to turn off/alter the speed of UI transitions between screens
  • Change to default colouring of attributes to make them more distinguishable.
  • Added preference option to allow users to customise attribute colours.
  • Added 1.5x Match Speed during highlights and 4x Match Speed between highlights
  • Manually scouting a player will now correctly delegate an appropriate scout.
  • Newgen portraits will now appear during match broadcast graphics.
  • Fixed issue preventing subs processing that were made at halftime via the tactics screen.
  • Fixed issue where white match ball would be used in snowy weather.
  • Set piece attributes are now visible when setting Set Piece/Penalty takers.
  • Tactic Familiarity will now correctly progress over time within Match Day > Tactics.
  • Fixed issue causing World Golden Ball award to be skewed towards South American players.
  • Text scaling preference option will now be saved after exiting the game.
  • Fixed issue preventing user from closing Fixtures & Results popup post-match.
  • Fixed issue causing Player Database to return incorrect results if user switched between Interest Levels
  • Fixed issue forcing user to holiday past End of Season Team Meeting
  • Staff Responsibilities has been made more accessible and easier to locate.
  • Selecting any carousel option besides the first on the ‘Club Staff’ now takes you to the correct view
  • Career Stats will no longer display GK columns for outfield players
  • Fixed issue preventing users to progress through UCL Squad Registration despite correct number of Homegrown players included.
  • Correct pronouns will now be used within ‘Ask Agent About Availability’ conversation.
  • Mental Attributes will now display correctly when set within the Staff Database tool.
  • Fixed issue where there was no way to tell which clubs were promoted/relegated via Season Preview
  • Club badges are now shown on the Media Dream Eleven
  • Back navigational directional arrow shortcut now functional across cards/tools
  • Overall start/until dates within Club > Finances > Debts & Loans will no longer display 01/01/1900.
  • Fixed issue where Squad Numbers would be missing if making a single substitution.
  • Injury icon now better displayed on contrasting red kits.
  • User can now select ‘None’ as an option for Individual Training.
  • User can now remove previously set Individual Training Focus.
  • Career > Managerial Vacancies will now display both men’s and women’s teams.
  • Fixed issue where player would reject the own asking price that they themselves had set.
  • Fixed issue preventing user from continuing if loanee was injured on international duty.
  • Manager Creation > Accessories will now correctly reflect colour changes.
  • Manager Creation > Fixed wrinkles slider not applying
  • Manager attire choices will now save correctly.
  • Fixed issue where remove button was not displaying in Squad Planner
  • Fixed User being able to sell instalments within clauses tool
  • Club Header in Welcome Pack will now display the correct information.
  • User can now only mortgage transfer instalments from the point they took over, not from real world transfers that occurred pre-game start date.
  • Refined 2025 squad registration rules for the NWSL.
  • “Exit Talks” button now functions correctly within Contract Negotiations.
  • Reworked Match Momentum Graph to better show teams with dark colouring.
  • Opposition team will now be highlighted in Europa/Conference League pre match league tables.
  • Winners will now display within Competitions Card.
  • User is now always taken back to portal after using instant result for a friendly match
  • Red card icon will now correctly display for each respective team within the Scorebar of men’s Champions League matches.
  • Fixed spacing of the aggregate score within the Scorebar of men’s Champions League matches.
  • Space bar can now be used to interrupt holiday or processing.
  • Fixed issue where “Find Similar Player To…” within Player Database wouldn’t filter out correct results.
  • Fixture tile on Portal will now correctly update post-match.
  • The “Scouting Finished” message headline will now display the name of the player.
  • The “Intermediary Suggestion” headline will now display the name of the player.
  • Fixed issue causing the Attributes Graph within Progress Report not to display graph lines.
  • Added a Leave button to Continue panel so spectators of an online match can leave during halftime.
  • Fixed inconsistency of teams being selected by default via ‘Quick Start’
  • Fixed “non-EU” rule in Serie A that was preventing certain players being registered in game despite being registered in real life.
  • Unmanageable divisions will no longer display within Advanced Game Setup.
  • Improved in-game tooltips, resolving issues with text wrapping and display location logic
  • Tooltip has been readded to First Team > Form to display numeric rating.
  • Changed the colour styling on First Team > Position Selectors to ensure the position selectors reflect the team selection correctly
  • Fixed issue preventing Medical Centre > Season Summary table from loading despite having injured player.

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2025-11-06 17:12