Can Skins Save Football Manager 26?

he launch of Football Manager 2026 has been received… negatively. Fans are fuming, and even the ones who are enjoying the game know deep down that it could be a lot better. But there has been one shining light of hope: modders. The heroes who make the skins that can transform the game. Many people are putting their last bit of faith into the idea that they can turn things around. The biggest issue right now is the User Interface, so if that gets fixed, we’ll have a good game, right? Well, I’ve taken a look to see if that’s a realistic solution and whether we’re right to put our faith in this, or if it’s a false dawn.

Why It Might Be Hard to Make Skins On FM26

The inspiration for this video goes to @WorkTheSpace. check out his video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNgo-K8x8UU&t=1575s

Around 25 minutes in, he highlights why it could be very hard, maybe even impossible, for skins and mods to save the game. And given that WorkTheSpace has been involved with some of the biggest Football Manager skins in recent editions, we should probably take his opinion seriously.

Essentially, he argues that custom skins will not exist this year because the UI is so unfinished that it’s going to see major changes throughout the year. As soon as someone releases a good skin, the next update will probably break it. He explains that’s why skinning isn’t officially supported this year, because there are going to be so many changes under the hood. That would ruin any skins that do come out and act as a massive deterrent for anyone thinking about making one. After all, why would you spend countless hours crafting a skin if it’s going to become unusable almost immediately?

Modding is also officially unsupported. Skins and UI reskins are not officially supported, or are only minimally supported. From the modding forum: “community skins won’t work” – or at least not reliably at launch. Without official tools or documentation, modders are flying blind and reverse-engineering formats, which takes time and reduces reliability.

Why There is Still Hope For Skins In FM26

Firstly, we should never underestimate the Football Manager modding community. The FM series has had an incredibly strong modding scene for years, covering everything from skins and UI tweaks to kits and real names. That means there’s both talent and technical know-how within the community that could adapt to FM26’s changes.

Even if Sports Interactive don’t fully support skins at launch, modders may eventually crack the formats. I’ve already seen a prominent Football Manager YouTuber paying to build a small Unity modding team to “explore how far we can push FM26’s Unity files” — https://x.com/xArthurRay/status/1983458240114643163

Because the backlash to the new UI has been so intense, there’s going to be far more motivation than in previous years. Tonnes of skins were made in years when people were happy with the game, so imagine how many will be attempted now.Additionally, in the long run, it may actually become far easier to mod the Unity engine. According to industry commentary, FM now has access to more modern rendering, UI frameworks and cross-platform flexibility. In theory, this could eventually make it easier for modders to plug into the game’s assets and UI resources.

An FM Expert’s Thoughts:

Initially, we’re not going to get a lot. Especially in these first few months, where Sports Interactive will be releasing constant hotfixes. But that might not be a bad thing. If they’re making big changes themselves, we might see many of the UI issues fixed directly by the developers; assuming they’re listening to feedback rather than doubling down on what they’ve already made.
In the longer term, though, things could change dramatically. Once modders get to grips with the new systems, and Sports Interactive slow down the rate of updates, this could become one of the most transformative periods the Football Manager modding community has ever seen.

 

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