Football Manager 26 Update 3 Finally Live on Steam Public Beta, Featuring 200+ Fixes and New Improvements - Patch Notes

After a 24-hour delay, Football Manager 2026 has finally received its next major patch today, as Update 3 is now live via the Steam Public Beta Track.

Sports Interactive confirmed that the build includes the previously announced 200+ fixes and refinements, along with several additional tweaks implemented while the team resolved yesterday’s “knock-on” issue. Players can access the Beta update now, and SI has once again published a “non-exhaustive” list of changes covering UI improvements, crash fixes, online stability, matchday logic, database behavior, and more.

Below are all of the list changes.

Football Manager 26 Update 3 – Patch Notes

• Further extensive polish and refinement done to the User Interface. 
• Further extensive crash and stability fixes.  
• Further fixes to freezes at Half-Time during Human vs. Human Online Matches. 
• Further improvements made to in game translations.  
• Fixed freeze issue in Online Games when using Large Custom Databases. 
• Fixed soft lock while trying to view a past match. 
• Fixed issue preventing user from accessing/making changes to the youth teams Training Calendar. 
• Added preference option for user to select their desired FPS setting, or to match that of their monitor refresh rate. 
• Added button to view match stats, match momentum, and xG story during highlights. 
• Tweaks made to the general screen flow. 
• Preference added to adjust the quality of the crowd. 
• Fixed an issue where the incorrect amount of European co-efficient points would be added following a result in the 2nd leg of knockout round stage matches.  
• Fixed issue where Association Coefficients weren’t being correctly allocated for the qualifying and playoff stages of European competitions. 
• Fixed issue that caused current season co-efficient total to display as zero until end of season.  
• Improved logic behind youth player wage demands.   
• Improved logic behind player wage demands in the lower leagues. 
• Fixed issue where player condition would always display full. 
• Tweaked frequency of rain occurring during matches. 
• Snow will now appear on the outside of stadiums, not just on the pitch. 
• Fixed crash when continuing with club from United Arab Emirates (UAE) during Advanced Game Setup.  
• Loading a tactic within a match now functions as intended.  
• Fixed issue preventing user from assigning shirt number to players out on loan.  
• Fixed issue where home shirt icon would always display in the in-match Tactics Planner, regardless of the kit worn on the day.  
• Data Hub > Last Match > Summary will now display data from the correct match.  
• Fixed Place of Birth functionality within Manager Creation.  
• Clicking ‘Apply’ when selecting which attributes to filter between on the Player Search now takes you back to the correct landing page.  
• Fixed issue where all subs would display as “S1” on team talks.  
• Fixed issue where Ligue 1 trophy image would display regardless of the competition.  
• Fixed an issue where the Prize Money portal message would incorrectly state that the user had drawn.  
• Added a Recruitment Budgets tile to the Finance Summary.  
• Fixed an issue allowing the user to create a Recruitment Focus for a Women’s competition despite managing a Men’s team, and vice versa.  
• Refined AI logic of Saudi based clubs when it comes to buying players.  
• Fixed functionality when making a sub via the dropdown menus within the in-match Tactics Planner.  
• Match highlights should now be in sync for users playing in Online saves.  
• Passing Risk player instruction will now display correctly locked as “Take More Risks” for a Midfield Playmaker role. 
• Fixed issue where the sub keeper would display in an outfield kit in the in-match Tactics Planner.  
• Fixed issue allowing for ineligible players to sometimes be registered.  
• Fixed issue where Team Leaders meeting would include the very player the meeting is about.  
• Fixed an issue allowing user to renegotiate transfer/loan fee despite contract terms already being agreed.  
• Improved squad building logic of top clubs.  
• Players will more appropriately decline entering contract negotiations upfront if there is a large discrepancy between the desired wage and the max wage the club can offer. 
• Fixed issue where Finance Graph would always display in USD.  
• Club > Finances will now display the correct data for Income and Expenditure.  
• In match Opposition Instructions will now correctly reflect any substitutions that have been made.  
• Fixed issue preventing the Sponsorships card in Finances from being opened.  
• Fixed issue where sponsorship end date would display as 1/1/1900.  
• First team players no longer wear a substitutes bib during pre-match team talk. 
• Tweaks to how a player’s current reputation is processed following a match.  
• Fixed issue preventing user from leading of all required team talks if they are in charge of multiple teams. 
• USA – Adjust Cap Impact bar will now function correctly.  
• Player Comparison polygon graph will now display the correct attribute points.  

IGE:

• Fixed the functionality of editing a player that is also a staff member at the same club with the In-Game Editor (IGE).  
• Corrected the functionality when editing the Stadium Condition field in the IGE.  
• Editing the Foreground/Background colour of a club within the IGE will now correctly save state.  
• Fixed issue causing the IGE icon/menus to appear even if user had chosen to turn feature off within save.  
• Maximising Existing Familiarity within the IGE will now update instantly.  
• Fixed crash in the IGE when editing the contract expiry date of a non-player.