Football Manager 26 beta: FM26 Early Access start date speculation

The one thing every FM fan looks forward to, other than the release date of the game itself, is the yearly Early Access. With the FM26 beta approaching, this year is no exception.

Giving players the chance to try out the game for the very first time, and the developers the chance to make some last minute tweaks, the FM beta is an important part of the game's launch.

We've already had the chance to go hands-on with the game in our FM26 preview, but fans are still waiting to get their own opportunity to try it out.

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

In an official capacity, we don't know yet when the FM26 beta is starting, as a start date hasn't been confirmed by Sports Interactive yet.

The most recent news about the beta comes from a post on 16th October from the official Football Manager X account, confirming that SI is "finalising the details" and that they will "have a concrete date to share with you next week."

Rather than an announcement of the beta, this appears to be more like an announcement of an announcement.

Since SI is announcing the beta start date next week, it suggests that the beta will not be starting until the week after, or perhaps next weekend at the earliest.

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.

As such, we predict that, following an announcement on Monday or Tuesday, the FM26 beta will begin between 22-24th October 2025, likely running for a week or so.

That being said, this is purely speculation and we could be completely wrong about this – this is just the conclusion we've come to based on the information that SI has already provided.

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