This international break feels never-ending. It’s not any longer than usual, but when you’re sitting waiting for the Football Manager 26 BETA to drop, every day feels about three weeks long, especially since last year’s FM25 was cancelled.
Fans have been reduced to watching fixtures like Lithuania vs Poland instead of playing the greatest game ever made, waiting for the FM26 release date like a dog waiting for its owner to come home. That’s how desperate things have become. Thankfully, the wait is almost over.
For some fans though, the real agony isn’t waiting to play the BETA, it’s the constant speculation about when it’ll finally drop. And I’ll be honest, I’m one of the worst offenders. For weeks now, I’ve been investigating and overanalysing every possible hint about when we’ll get our hands on the most anticipated game of the year. So I’ll make this promise: this will be the last time I speculate. But before I officially stop… there are some serious rumours flying around that the BETA could be released today. Intrigued? Let’s break down the evidence.
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The First Big Clue
Firstly, one Reddit user uncovered this thread earlier today. Honestly, this community is full of Sherlock Holmes wannabes… and we love them for it. The user noticed that the EULA (End User Licence Agreement) for FM26 had quietly gone live online.
If you’re unfamiliar, the EULA is basically the legal contract you have to agree to before booting up the game, and in past years, it’s been one of the earliest indicators that the BETA is about to drop. As one Redditor pointed out, back in FM22, both the EULA and Early Access were published on the same day… 21st October.
The Second Big clue
If that first clue wasn’t enough to get you excited, there’s even more intrigue on the high seas. The Sports Interactive forums have suddenly gone offline, something that’s been spotted across multiple social platforms, including this post on X and this Reddit thread.
When the SI forums disappear without warning, it usually means the devs are up to something big. That’s where all the patch notes and bug threads live, so if they’ve gone dark, it’s definitely because new FM26 sections are being added. In past years, that’s included areas for FM26 bug reports, Early Access feedback, and BETA discussion threads, all of which only appear once the BETA is about to go live.
Final thoughts
Put these two things together and it feels exactly the sort of thing Sports Interactive have done in previous years just before hitting the big red button. Yes, it might be slightly earlier than the traditional Football Manager BETA release window but after a two-year wait for a brand-new game, the community’s patience has definitely been tested. So if the BETA does drop early to save us from our international break boredom, it’s probably the least they could do.
