FM26 Feature Reveal Strategy
Football Manager, 2025
Structuring FM26’s feature reveals as a connected rollout that kept anticipation building across the campaign.
MY ROLE
Led the strategy and rollout behind Football Manager’s most ambitious feature reveal campaign to date across platforms, partners and audiences.
CONTEXT
FM26 marked a shift for the series.
After two years without a release, anticipation extended far beyond the core audience.
A new match engine, the introduction of women’s football and expanded tactical systems meant the series was moving in multiple directions.
With major changes and expectancy at its highest in years, the rollout needed to unfold over time and reach different audiences through different touchpoints.
STRATEGY
The rollout was built on a feature reveal roadmap, so every release created anticipation for the next. Each feature drop launched with a hero moment, supported by supplementary content, explainers and always-on formats.
Each feature was told through different formats - cinematic reveals, social explainers and creator content - so it could reach different audiences.
The sequencing kept anticipation building across the campaign, with one release setting up the next.
Club partners, leagues, content partners and influencers extended each feature into wider football audiences, giving the rollout broader reach beyond FM’s core audience.
WHAT CHANGED
The reveals became part of the same story, with every release adding to a wider picture of the game across different formats and platforms. Each beat built a cohesive campaign that compounded with every reveal.
It became Football Manager’s largest feature rollout to date, culminating in a livestream launch with Jarrod Bowen and Spencer FM that hit 500k views.
The rollout contributed to Football Manager’s biggest pre-order cycle, up 55% from FM24.
MOST AMBITIOUS
FM feature rollout to date
NOMINATED
as Best Marketing Campaign by Develop:Star Awards
MOST VIEWED
FM feature rollout in history
Images: Sports Interactive