12 September 2026
Football Manager has never had more people looking for something else. FM26 launched in November 2025 on a new engine with a new interface, and a large chunk of the community bounced off it. Steam reviews went to mostly negative, over 100 features were missing at launch, and Sports Interactive spent the next seven months patching before ending support for the game in July and moving everything to FM27.
FM27 arrives in November 2026 and SI has promised to restore a lot of what was lost. Until then, and for anyone who's decided they want something different regardless, here's what's out there. We've grouped by what you're actually after.
Play FM24. It's still on Steam, it's the last game on the old engine, it's the version most veterans went back to, and there are community data updates for the 2026/27 season. It won't get any more patches, but it doesn't need them.
We Are Football 2024 is the pick. German-made, runs the whole club from finances to the youth academy, includes women's football, and simulates matches quickly rather than rendering them in 3D. Fictional data unless you add a licence pack. There's a demo on Steam.
FIFA Manager 2026 (the community patch for EA's old game) is the other serious option. Fans have updated it every year since EA stopped, and the 2026 edition is a full overhaul with 500+ leagues and modern graphics. You need an old copy of FIFA Manager 13 or 14 to install it.
Championship Manager 01/02 is free from Sports Interactive, kept current by the community, and a season takes an evening. It's the game half the FM community grew up on and it still works.
Soccer Manager 2026 is free on Steam and mobile, has real leagues and players, a 3D engine and a manageable amount of depth. Ads and optional purchases, but you can ignore them.
Gaffa runs in your browser with no account and no app, and gets straight to the football.
Club Soccer Director PRO on PC or Football Club Management 2026 on mobile both let you be the chairman or director of football rather than the coach. Hire managers, set the philosophy, build the stadium, balance the books.
Football Chairman Pro 2 does the same thing in a lighter, text-based way.
Hattrick (since 1997, no pay-to-win, fictional players, slow real-time seasons) and Top Eleven (real-time leagues of 15 people, big community, token economy) are the two poles. Trophy Manager and ManagerZone sit near Hattrick. OSM sits near Top Eleven with real licences.
FM26 is the only current option on PS5, Xbox and Switch, and the console version had the roughest launch of all. The old LMA Manager games on PS2 are worth an emulator if you're feeling nostalgic. FM27's console plans are due to be confirmed nearer release.
Football Tactics & Glory is a turn-based tactics game with a club layer. New Star Manager mixes management with arcade moments where you take the shot yourself. Football Drama is a narrative game where the result is decided before kick-off and your job is to manage the fallout. None of them replace FM, all of them are a nice change.
Nothing here matches FM's combination of a fully licensed database, tactical depth, and a career save you can run for 30 seasons. If that's the specific thing you want, the honest advice is FM24 now and FM27 in November.
But a lot of people who say they want FM actually want the feeling of a season: picking a team, working the transfer window, seeing the table on the final day. That takes 200 hours in FM and it doesn't have to. Manager of Football is built around that shorter loop, with the Premier League as the setting. Play it free in your browser.
For a free football manager game live for the 2026-27 season, check out www.manageroffootball.com.