Football Manager 26 is only days into its Advanced Access beta, but it’s already facing significant backlash over its new UI design. Many players have complained about the new UI, citing issues with needing to make multiple clicks to find important screens or some buttons being glitchy. Developer Sports Interactive has suggested that some players should experiment with using a controller to play FM26, and fans of the series are less than thrilled about it.
Sports Interactive Faces Backlash For Its Controller Suggestion
In a recent “First 10 Things to Do in FM26” guide, Sports Interactive recommended that FM26 players should “consider playing with a controller,” a note that immediately set off the FM community across social media. The response was overwhelmingly negative, with long-time fans accusing SI of abandoning its PC roots in favor of appealing to console and mobile audiences.
A Reddit thread — which quickly racked up thousands of upvotes and replies — was filled with disbelief and sarcasm. One of the top comments summed up the reaction bluntly: “A controller for spreadsheets. How detached are they from their core audience?” Another user compared it to the infamous “Do you not have phones?” incident when Diablo Immortal was announced to be mobile-exclusive, despite most of its player base being on PC.
Reddit wasn’t the only social media platform to erupt as a result of SI’s suggestion, either. On X (formerly known as Twitter), popular FM content creator WorkTheSpace also criticized the decision, calling it “tone deaf.”
Many argued that suggesting controller play confirmed what they already suspected: that FM 26’s new Unity-based interface was built for console first. “Telling players to use a controller to play a PC game tells otherwise,” one user wrote. “We’re talking about playing a freaking spreadsheet simulator with a controller.”
As a longtime FM player myself, I understand the frustration. PC has always been the primary platform for the Football Manager series, and because it is mostly spreadsheets and reading text with some football in between, having a decent UI is extremely important. And if the UI is not optimized for PC use, then it alienates a majority of the player base. I don’t think anyone is opposed to FM being available on other platforms — it has been for a while now — but it needs to be within reason and can’t risk alienating the PC community.
Football Manager 26 is due for full release on November 4.
