Sports Interactive boss Miles Jacobson has confirmed a free demo of Football Manager 26 will be available the day the full game releases. However, there may be some restrictions for long-time players on specific platforms.
The footie sim is set to launch on November 4th, but those who have pre-purchased the game on PC or Mac will be able to get early access from Thursday 23 October in the form of the FM26 beta.
Miles Jacobson confirms free trial version
However, for those in two minds about picking up FM26, SI studio head Miles Jacobson confirmed to the FM.Zweierkette and Jonukas podcast that a trial version will also be arriving. “I will get told off for saying this by our PR team,” he said.
“We will be releasing a free demo of the game on the day of release. If you don’t want to pre-order and you don’t want to buy it upfront and you want to try it first I’ve got no issues with that… go for it.” This means for the FM26 demo will drop on November 4.
“If you don’t want to pre-order and you don’t want to buy it upfront and you want to try it first I’ve got no issues with that”
Sports Interactive Studio Head, Miles Jacobson
At the time of writing, SI is incentivising those to pre-purchase the game by offering a 10% discount, so long as it’s through a SEGA-approved retailer. In the interview, Jacobson reinforced that FM 26 isn’t just ‘a better version of FM24’ but an entirely different game. “It’s not a better version of FM24, it’s not a worse version of FM24, it’s FM26,” he said. “So it is the first step into the new series.”
So, what’s in the FM26 trial?
Details are yet to be revaled about the demo, however we’d expect it to follow the same format as the FM24 demo. Although unconfirmed, it’s highly likely the trial will only be available for those on PC and Mac, so those playing on console may not be able to try the game.
FM26 Demo Features and Restrictions
- Six in-game months, which equates to approximately 10 hours game play.
- Progress made in the demo can be carried forward if you decide to upgrade at any time.
- Only available for PC and Mac users
While Sports Interactive hasn’t commented on console demos, it seems that the FM26 demo will only be available for PC and MacOS users. This is likely due to the game”s unique release structure with the game’s Xbox port releasing on Xbox Game Pass and the annual Touch incarnation releasing via a Netflix Gaming subscription.
It’s not too surprising that Sports Interactive will be releasing a Football Manager 26 free demo. While not every game has received a free trial before launch, many titles in the series have, including the last mainline entry: FM24. Nevertheless, it’s nice to see the developer continue to give fans a free shot at the game before they make their purchase.
