SI’s silence on Football Manager 2026 is deafening, but is it time to chill?

At this point, I don’t need to go over the whole Football Manager 2025 being cancelled thing... you were there, you know what happened. The annual release of the FM series has been scrapped for a year, and all hopes are pinned on FM 26 being enough of an upgrade to make the wait worth it.

Unfortunately, for all fans, the last couple of months have been met with an ominous new development: silence. Complete and overwhelming silence, so much so that you can almost here the tension across the FM fanbase coming under load.

This hasn’t gone unnoticed. Influential creators like Omega Luke and Lollujo have weighed in with titles like “Football Manager Has a Serious Problem” and “Why Do Football Manager Devs Keep Ignoring Us?”. Meanwhile, the wider FM community has echoed the concern. On Reddit and Twitter, you’ll see posts saying there’s been “no trailer, no gameplay, barely even a dev update” about the next title.

A popular comment put it bluntly: “For a game that was supposed to be revolutionary for the franchise, the complete lack of communication is starting to feel more like they’re hiding problems than building excitement.”

Speculation is running wild because there’s been no information to go on. Basically, with zero real info out there, fans are left filling in the games themselves. Some fans are openly wondering if the game is behind schedule, or even at risk of another delay. But are we right to worry? Is this silence genuinely unusual, or just a break from the norm?

How Does This Compare to Past Communication?

To understand whether the silence is a red flag, we need to look at how Sports Interactive has handled things in the past.

Historically, SI has been fairly open in the run-up to new releases. Studio director Miles Jacobson was a consistent voice on social media and forums, often sharing development updates and responding to fan questions directly. For example, during the FM25 cycle, we got multiple blog posts: one in June 2024 outlining the studio’s long-term vision (including the switch to Unity and the addition of women’s football), and another in September that revealed the new UI and acknowledged development challenges.

That September post was honest about setbacks. It admitted that moving to Unity was “trickier than we originally anticipated” and explained that international management was being dropped to focus on core gameplay. The studio even delayed the FM25 release by a few weeks… and crucially, they told us about it up front. Compared to now, they couldn’t stop telling us what was going on.

Now compare that to 2025. We’re in June, and there’s been nothing. No screenshots, no blogs, no teaser features. Even Miles, a usually reliable presence, took a self-imposed social media break after the FM25 backlash. Understandable, maybe, but it meant that a key source of informal updates disappeared too.

While it’s true that September and October are usually the key months for FM marketing, in most years there’s been something by now… a Q&A, a tweet, an image, a nudge. Right now, there’s a vacuum.

The Fallout From FM25

Let’s not forget that this isn’t a typical release cycle. FM25 was cancelled; a first in the series’ history. SI didn’t just delay the game, they scrapped it entirely. That shook confidence among fans and content creators alike.

And while the studio did initially promise to keep us in the loop, that hasn’t really happened. A January update was teased, then never came. March passed with no news. April, still nothing. For a community that thrives on detail and transparency, the silence has been jarring.

Even trusted influencers, people who usually get early access or behind-the-scenes insight, have said they’re in the dark. One Reddit user summed up the mood: “The frustration comes from the lack of information given and the lack of communication since. The latter being the worst of the lot, in my eyes.”

What’s SEGA Saying?

While Sports Interactive has gone quiet, SEGA, as the publisher and parent company, has offered a few more clues.

First, they’ve backed the decision to cancel FM25. In a BBC interview, SEGA’s CEO admitted that releasing a buggy or unfinished product might’ve been better financially, but they chose to delay for quality reasons. That’s a reassuring stance. It’s good to know they’d rather delay than release something unfinished (not every publisher would).

Second, there’s evidence from SEGA’s investor communications that FM26 is still on track for a late 2025 release. In reports shared with shareholders, SEGA has referred to Football Manager 2026 as part of its upcoming financial year slate, effectively treating it as this year’s annual release.

That means the plan, as it stands, is to release FM26 in autumn 2025. That’s in line with past schedules, despite FM25’s absence, the series hasn’t been knocked completely off course.

Signs Of Progress

Even without public updates, there are signs development is progressing.

In June 2025, community members spotted job listings for QA testers specifically for Football Manager 2026. These roles were based in Sofia, where SEGA runs its European QA hub and set to last through March 2026. That kind of timelines usually means it’s playable now, probably in testing while they iron out the bugs.

Hiring QA testers is not something you do when you’re still prototyping. It indicates there’s a build. Something you can interact with, test, and fix. For many fans, this was the strongest sign yet that FM26 is real, active, and moving forward.

There’s also been a small but symbolic morale boost: a photo shared online of Miles Jacobson in the SI studio, grinning in front of a Football Manager banner. It might seem trivial, but for fans concerned about possible departures or leadership issues, it was proof that the man behind the series is still at the wheel (If you’re not a fan of Miles, this may be it’s own seperate issue for you)

Maybe a Strategic Silence?

So, is the silence a warning sign, or a calculated move?

Many believe SI learned a hard lesson from the FM25 cycle: don’t overpromise. In that cycle, the studio announced sweeping new features, opened pre-orders… and then had to cancel the game months later. It was a PR disaster.

So this time, they may simply be playing it safe. It could be that they’re holding everything until it’s 100% ready, which… fair enough, I guess. If that’s the plan, it’s understandable… and maybe even smart. But it doesn’t make it any less frustrating for the community.

The big test will come in the next two months. If we get to late August or early September with no trailer, no blogs, no roadmap, then it’s fair to start ringing alarm bells. Until then, though, there’s reason to be cautiously optimistic.

Final Thoughts

Let’s make one thing very clear: fans have every right to feel uneasy. The collapse of FM25 damaged trust, and the lack of updates since hasn’t helped. But silence doesn’t always mean disaster. Behind the scenes, the signals we do have. Like QA hiring, internal builds, SEGA’s continued support etc. They all point to FM26 being on track.

It may not feel like it now, but this could be the calm before the storm. A deliberately chosen quiet spell before a major, and dramatic, push and announcement. For all we know, they’re gearing up for something massive behind the scenes. If SI can stick the landing this autumn, with a polished game, beautiful new, robust, features and lessons learned from the FM25 misfire, then the silence might just have been worth it.

Until then, we wait. Hopefully and impatiently.