Football Manager 26 gets official teaser and I am bursting with excitement

I often say to people that I'm not all that much of a gamer. It's true, really – you won't find me battling through niche titles for hours on end, holed up in a gaming chair wide-eyed and sun-bereft.

There is one exception, though – Football Manager. I've been playing it – as well as similarly styled rival titles like Championship Manager and LMA Manager – since 2001, and the excitement has really never dissipated for me.

If you're also a fan, you'll know that the franchise has been in a little spot of unusual activity over the last 12 months. The 2025 edition never made it to market, as the brand sought to redesign everything on a new Unity engine.

Now, they've unveiled the first glimpse of that – and I'm incredibly excited. The 30 second clip is laced with a mix of real footage and simulated details, but the level of detail looks fantastic – almost like EA Sports FC in places.

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Really, that's all anyone could ask for. While the game has retained a cult following for years, it hasn't evolved visually for some time, and has been criticised for lagging behind other titles.

It's far too soon to say whether or not the visual identity shown here is simply a representative teaser or true-to-life, but I'm excited nonetheless. The updates said to be included in last years game – things like the introduction of women's football and the new match engine – were really appealing to me.

The 24 month wait certainly hasn't killed any of the anticipation, either. I'm firmly in the camp of people who'd rather see a significant boost every few years than a mediocre one every year, so this feels right up my street.

There's no confirmation of the release date, or even when we'll see new information, so for now we'll be keeping an ear to the ground. Now, I'm off to do some more research on the Portuguese fourth tier. It's almost show time, after all...