FM27 vs FM26

5:09 FM27 is built on the same foundations as FM26, the Unity engine, women's football in one world with the men's game, and the Premier League license, and Sports Interactive (SI) presents it as the repair of what went wrong: FM27 "evolves our existing design language while reintroducing familiar behaviours", with navigation bars and fewer pop-up cards, and it brings back Cup Draws, Transfer Deadline Day, Heat Maps and Pass Maps. On top of the fixes come new systems, Tactical Effectiveness, Tactical Tweaks and Shuffle Draft. Whether FM27 is better is not settled: as of Nov 1, 2026 there are no reviews, and the fairest test is the free Launch Preview on PC and Mac until 6pm GMT on Nov 3. Before the free week, FM Scout rated FM26's six main complaints three fixed and three partly fixed on SI's reveals.

Quick facts

Sources: SI, Nov 4, 2025; SI's FM27 FAQ, read Nov 1, 2026; Steam: FM26 and FM27, Nov 1, 2026; FM Scout, Oct 19, 2025; SI, Oct 27, 2026; Metacritic, Nov 1, 2026.

What went wrong with FM26

Football Manager 26 came out on Nov 4, 2025 as SI's first game made with Unity, nine months after Football Manager 25 was canceled. It brought the Premier League license and women's football, and it sold well: SEGA Sammy said sales ran about 30% ahead of Football Manager 2024's, the fastest pace in the series.

1:36 Players did not like what they got. In Football Manager 26, Steam reviews fell to "Mostly Negative" within a day, 22% positive from over 2,000 English reviews per PCGamesN, and on Nov 1, 2026 they stood at 38% of 9,456 positive. PC Gamer's report of the launch reviews names bugs, more clicks and information split into smaller widgets, while many players found the new match engine promising. FM26's Metascore of 68 is the lowest of any PC Football Manager on Metacritic. Heat Maps and International Management were missing at launch. In the clip, DoctorBenjy FM says FM26 got its players wrong and that its pop-ups left him fighting the game.

SI owned it. In May 2026 Miles Jacobson wrote that the interface changes "weren't well received by everyone", that the release "failed to meet the expectations of many," and that he took full responsibility; he named immersion, the game world, UI navigation and the UI itself as the next game's focus. FM26's last update was 26.3.2, per Inven Global. See Football Manager 26.

What SI says FM27 fixes

In SI's own words, from its 2026 deep dives:

• Cards: asked whether there will be fewer pop-up cards than in FM26, SI answers "Yes", turning many into full screens.
• Tiles: in FM26 tiles both showed information and navigated; in FM27 they mostly show information and navigation moves to the top menus with drop-downs.
• Bookmarks: SI says they "offered a quicker, more reliable way to navigate in FM26," and FM27 adds text labels and reordering.
• News: FM26's For You system filled the whole News menu; FM27 separates it from transfer and world football news.
• Career History is "now restored to being a full-screen experience."
• Fixtures: 14 scheduling rules are fixed, "outstanding issues that weren't addressed in updates for FM26".
• Pre-orders: SI held them back to show more of the game first, and made the Launch Preview free as a "tangible example" of rebuilding trust.

Every one of these is SI's description of a development build. The changes are on Interface and Navigation and Continue Flow and the Football World.

FM Scout's scorecard

Before the free period, FM Scout lined up FM26's six main complaints against SI's FM27 reveals and its first livestream, in an article last updated Oct 23, 2026:

Source: FM Scout, Oct 23, 2026.

0:00 FM Scout adds that bugs cannot be judged until people play the game, which is the part of FM26's launch no reveal can answer. In the clip, Zealand lists FM26 bugs he had not seen addressed in SI's FM27 reveals.

What comes back from FM24 and earlier

3:11 FM26 dropped several features that earlier games had, and FM27 restores a list of them, by SI's account: Cup Draws "in a familiar format" and Transfer Deadline Day; Heat Maps, Action Zones, Pass Maps, Best XI screens, calendar links, copy and paste of training schedules and the toggle button for switching screens; and in the Manager Creator, Favorite Club and the color picker. FM Scout reports SI said the end-of-season review is not set to return. Football Manager 2024 players can bring their save across; see Football Manager 2024 and Save Carry Over.

What stays from FM26

• Unity: FM27 refines the engine FM26 moved to; Jacobson said post-launch fixes "wouldn't have been possible without moving to Unity".
• Women's football: FM26 added it in one world where a career can move between men's and women's football; FM27 keeps it and adds the Arkema Première Ligue license. See Women's Football.
• The Premier League license continues, listed under England. See Leagues and Licenses.
• In and Out of Possession tactics: FM26's two-shape system stays, with Tactical Effectiveness and Tactical Tweaks on top. SI has not said whether FM26's roles or tactical presets changed. See Tactics.
• The Portal, Bookmarks and TransferRoom, all FM26 additions, are still there.

What is new in FM27 that FM26 never had

Tactical Effectiveness and Tactical Complexity, Tactical Tweaks, rebuilt Shouts, match-preparation training in place of Units, a match engine built on Hawk-Eye data, Continue Flow, the new match day atmosphere, the concussion protocol and Shuffle Draft. Each is on What's New in FM27.

Platforms compared

Sources: SI, Nov 4, 2025; SI's FM27 FAQ, read Nov 1, 2026.

SI dropped Switch and Xbox One for FM27 "to focus on maximising the game's quality". In Football Manager 26, FM26 Mobile was the only edition not made with Unity; SI has not said whether FM27 Mobile is. See Platforms.

Should I upgrade to FM27?

16:23 That is a call for each player, and the facts that bear on it are these. FM27 costs the same as FM26 on Steam, $59.99 / £49.99 / €59.99, with 10% off before Nov 10; it is on Game Pass from day one; your FM26 or FM24 save can come with you; and until 6pm GMT on Nov 3 you can play the whole game free to decide. What no one can tell you yet is how the finished game holds up over a season: the only verdicts so far are SI's own claims, FM Scout's scorecard, a handful of previews and creators' first impressions, gathered on Previews and Reception. Price details are on Price and Editions. In the clip, Clayts, after 24 hours with a pre-release build, calls FM27 "FM26 but better" and possibly as good as FM24.

Frequently asked questions

Is FM27 better than FM26? No reviews of FM27 existed as of Nov 1, 2026, so it has not been judged. Sports Interactive says FM27 fixes FM26's navigation and restores missing features, and FM Scout rated three of FM26's six main complaints fixed and three partly fixed on SI's reveals.

What does FM27 fix from FM26? FM27 has fewer pop-up cards, navigation bars with drop-downs, tiles that mainly show information, labeled Bookmarks and editable Shortcuts, and it brings back Cup Draws, Transfer Deadline Day, Heat Maps, Pass Maps and Best XI screens.

Is FM27 still on the Unity engine? Yes. FM27 is built on Unity, the engine Football Manager 26 moved to, with upgrades to the interface and match engine.

Should I upgrade from FM26 to FM27? FM27 costs the same as FM26 on Steam, carries over FM26 saves and is free to try on PC and Mac until 6pm GMT on Nov 3, 2026, which is the best way to decide before any reviews appear.

Is FM27 on Switch like FM26? No. FM26 Touch reached Nintendo Switch on Dec 4, 2025, but FM27 has no Switch version.

Why did people dislike FM26? Players criticized Football Manager 26's interface, extra clicks, bugs and missing features such as International Management and Heat Maps at launch. Its Steam reviews were still "Mostly Negative" on Nov 1, 2026.

Sources

• Football Manager 27 (FAQ), Sports Interactive, as of Nov 1, 2026
• Football Manager 27, Steam, as of Nov 1, 2026
• Football Manager 26, Steam, as of Nov 1, 2026
• Football Manager 26, Metacritic, as of Nov 1, 2026
• Football Manager 27 Licences, Sports Interactive, Oct 28, 2026
• Roshn Saudi League makes debut in FM27, Sports Interactive, Oct 27, 2026
• What we know about Football Manager 2027, FM Scout, Oct 27, 2026
• FM27 vs FM26: Is SI Fixing What Went Wrong?, FM Scout, Oct 23, 2026
• Play Free: Football Manager 27 Launch Preview, Sports Interactive, Oct 21, 2026
• FM27: 2D Match Engine, In-Game Editor and Deeper World Upgrades, Sports Interactive, Oct 16, 2026
• FM27: More Personal, Accessible and Yours, Sports Interactive, Oct 15, 2026
• FM27: Clearer Interface & Smoother Navigation, Sports Interactive, Sep 25, 2026
• FM27: Clearer Interface & Smoother Navigation (Steam), Sports Interactive, Sep 25, 2026
• FM27: A Deeper, More Immersive Football World, Sports Interactive, Sep 25, 2026
• 'FM26' Update Support Ends, Inven Global, Jul 13, 2026
• The return of International Management and a review of FM26, Sports Interactive (Miles Jacobson), May 11, 2026
• FY2026/3 Q2 Results Presentation with Scripts, SEGA SAMMY, Nov 7, 2025
• Football Manager 26's Steam score makes Mindseye's look good, PCGamesN, Nov 5, 2025
• Football Manager 26 launches straight into a relegation battle as Steam reviews plummet to Mostly Negative, PC Gamer, Nov 5, 2025
• Football Manager 26 Out Now Across Platforms, Sports Interactive, Nov 4, 2025
• FM26 Leagues and Licences, FM Scout, Oct 19, 2025
• Introducing Women's Football, Sports Interactive, 2025
• Clearer Interface & Smoother Navigation | FM27 Feature Deep Dive, Football Manager, Sep 22, 2026 (video)
• Is FM27 Actually Good? BRUTAL REVIEW, DoctorBenjy FM, Oct 28, 2026 (video)
• 10 Bugs FM27 Needs To Fix, Zealand, Oct 28, 2026 (video)
• A Deeper Football World | FM27 Feature Deep Dive, Football Manager, Sep 25, 2026 (video)
• I Played FM27 for 24 Hours, Clayts, Oct 28, 2026 (video)