SI just updated the community on the upcoming 26.1.3 update on the SI forum, noting that the patch is undergoing its final quality assurance runs and will be released soon. In the same announcement, they also mentioned that the upcoming patch will feature a “New Match Engine Version” along with other improvements.
This “New Match Engine Version” was actually “New Match Engine” in the announcement, which was later fixed. However, the idea of a new match engine kind of threw the FM community into a bit of a shock. For those unfamiliar, the match engine runs the simulations behind the scenes and tells the graphics engine what to display. So, the results of your matches and how they go on are all calculated by the Match Engine first. It’s like the brains of the game behind the scenes.
However, the hope was soon diminished as the post was corrected to state “New Match Engine Version”.
The idea of an update to the existing Match Engine isn’t bad, but it’s the same line of “improvement” patches we have been seeing. There has been progress, but more so on the performance and bug-fixing side of things; the game is as bad as it was on release.
Fan Reactions
This announcement was reposted on r/footballmanagergames, but without the correction. Fans were quick to catch on that it was probably an error, as building a new Match engine isn’t very likely.
I’m pretty sure they mean a new version of the match engine and not an entirely new one. Although, SI rushing out a completely new back-end to try and salvage their reputation wouldn’t surprise me at this point, but I’m really not sure it’s possible even to quarter-arse it in that short amount of time.
On the other hand, some voiced their disappointments with the game’s slow pace of improvement.
they keep saying “new match engine” and every time that ends up meaning “minor revisions to the same old”
While others worry that SI didn’t really work on the Match Engine after FM24 and merely ported it over to the new game. And, this new match engine version was the intended engine for the new game.
This sounds like the worst wording they could have possibly used on so many levels. Why do i get the feeling they didn’t actually change a thing from fm24 for launch and this is the actual intended launch change now? And it was all just masked by the new tactics system?
In short, all we are probably getting with this new update is the same line of improvements and bug fixes. While the idea of a new match engine does sound promising, it’s not likely that SI will spend the time and resources on a new engine. We will have to wait till the update drops to know the exact details of it. If they are working on improving the Match Engine, we can expect to see some improvements.
