Football Manager 26 beta: FM26 Early Access start date speculation

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Football Manager fans eagerly anticipate the yearly Early Access release, second only to the game’s launch itself. With the beta version of FM26 on the horizon, this year is no different.

As a Football Manager player, I always get hyped for the beta! It’s not just a chance for us to get an early look – it’s super important for the developers too. They use our feedback to polish things and make those final adjustments before the full game comes out, so it’s a win-win!

We’ve already tested the game and shared our first impressions, but now fans are eager to experience it themselves.

So, when does the FM26 beta start? What news have we heard from SI? Here’s what you need to know.

Football Manager 26 beta: FM26 Early Access start date speculation

We don’t have an official start date for the Football Manager 2026 beta yet, as Sports Interactive hasn’t confirmed one.

The latest update on the beta test comes from the official Football Manager X account on October 16th. They announced that Sports Interactive is putting the finishing touches on the details and will share a firm release date sometime next week.

Okay, so it’s not actually a beta reveal, it’s just them saying they *will* reveal the beta at some point. Basically, it’s a trailer for the trailer, you know?

SI has announced they’ll begin beta testing next week, but the actual beta period likely won’t start until the following week, or possibly as early as next weekend.

On the other side, that doesn’t leave very much time until the game’s full release on 4th November.

We also know that, in recent years, SI has typically released the beta on a Wednesday or Thursday.

We expect the first beta version of FM26 to launch between October 22nd and 24th, 2025, following an announcement early next week. It will probably be available for about a week.

It’s important to remember this is just our educated guess, and we could definitely be mistaken. We’ve reached this conclusion based on the information SI has already shared.

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2025-10-17 15:37