A discovery from the Football Manager community points to evidence that significant portions of Football Manager 26‘s development — specifically around the UI — were handled by an external co-development studio. The finding comes from a portfolio listing on the website The Knights of Unity, a Poland-based engineering firm, which publicly credits itself with assisting Sports Interactive and Sega on FM26.
According to the studio’s own project page, The Knights of Unity “assisted in delivering the co-development service, including areas such as UI and core systems implementation among others” for FM26, including work on:
- UI development
- Implementation of core systems
- Profiling and optimization
- Graphics programming
- Bug fixing
The studio also states that its involvement with the project began in 2024 and has continued until now, lining up with the multi-year process of transitioning Football Manager to the Unity engine.
This is the first time the FM community has seen direct confirmation — however inadvertent — that a substantial part of the PC version’s UI and systems work may have been outsourced. While outsourcing is a standard practice in the games development industry, it’s notable here because FM26‘s UI has been one of its most controversial elements, with many long-time players feeling the redesign lacks the cohesiveness and familiarity of previous years.
The Knights of Unity, which employs more than 90 developers and advertises over 120 completed projects, is a well-established technical partner in the Unity space. Its portfolio includes work on high-profile titles such as Hollow Knight: Silksong, multiple ports, and optimization contracts for AA and AAA studios. The group typically specializes in engineering support rather than design direction, which may indicate that SI handled the conceptual UI design internally, while implementation and systems integration were carried out by Knights of U.
Sports Interactive has not publicly commented on the collaboration or the scope of outsourced elements, and the listing does not specify which UI screens, systems, or features The Knights of Unity implemented. However, some creators — such as YouTuber Gray Hair Gaming — have pointed to the listing as a potential explanation for the game’s fragmented feel at launch.
With SI currently preparing its first major content update and continuing to adjust FM26 post-launch, the extent of the outsourcing will likely remain a topic of discussion within the community, especially as more players scrutinize how the Unity transition has unfolded.
