News & Patch Notes

Patch 1.0.4

Esports Manager 2026

We are getting closer to our big August update, so this one is the last (probably) till August.

Maps & Visuals

  • Optimized maps and reworked the map loading process.
  • Reworked the visuals of Anubis.
  • Updated water textures on Anubis and Inferno.

Match Balance

  • Reworked side balance (T/CT) on all maps.
  • Slightly reduced comeback chance.
  • Reworked the formulas for how player attributes influence matches.
  • IGL leadership skill and map practice level now have a much stronger impact on team performance.
  • Reworked the formula for quick match odds.
  • Reduced the impact of Basecamp. (Applies to new careers)
  • Reduced the bonus from morale.

Players & Development

  • AI players can now both grow and decline over time. Young players are more likely to develop, while older players gradually lose form.
  • Attribute growth from training is now faster.
  • Player potential can now be hand-authored in the database and is shown as stars on the player profile.
  • Reworked how does match results impact player's morale state.

Transfers & Contracts

  • Player form and season impact are now factored into transfer value.
  • Clubs that are clearly out of their depth no longer bid on listed players.
  • AI academies no longer sign players older than 21. They can sign up to 23 y.o. in rare cases when they have less than 5 players.
  • AI clubs now sign young free agents — promising youngsters no longer sit unsigned for years.
  • Clubs will more actively ask for a loan of your player.
  • Fixed: a rejected negotiation no longer locks the player out of the entire market — only the releasing club is blocked.
  • Fixed: players whose contract simply expired are no longer locked from signing.
  • Fixed: loaned players left without a club no longer receive an unnecessary waiting period.

Staff

  • Added variety to the size and starting composition of team staff.
  • AI teams now top up their staff monthly and hire available specialists from the market instead of creating new ones.
  • Every AI club tier now has a PR manager and a physiotherapist.
  • Staff negotiation emails now state the exact wage the candidate expects.

Database

  • Added a new club: EQX (Equinox Gaming, Portugal) with a full roster — Batuca, ditrip, KiLLx, minD, miserita, wrong.
  • Added a new club: Trident Esports (Australia).
  • Added 25 new free agents:
  1. Italy — -Angelo, -Longdd, adh4rt, at1picaL, boosta-, Brontolo666, Forwardp, jonyzera, LTH, maj1me, rave666, ryfragz, satybgohard, Scr0cc0, TheLegenDDDD, Xengood, Zeanyy, zoom_iwnl
  2. Portugal — ZPX
  3. Norway — Saasinho, Sagøy
  4. France — YouKnow
  5. Israel — -Lior
  6. Japan — 11kai
  7. Botswana — vyrr
  • Updated details for several existing players.

Sponsors, Tournaments & Finances

  • Sponsor objectives "Finish TOP 3" have been changed to "Finish TOP 4".
  • Fixed an issue where sponsors would not return to active status after their lockout period ended.
  • Major invitations are now sent if the team is in the TOP 32 among teams with a full roster.
  • Financial reports now display the monthly bonus.

Improved Save System

  • Added notifications for errors in the save system.
  • Improved detection of incorrect system behavior, reducing the risk of losing your progress.
  • The game now automatically creates save backups: the previous save and a save from the start of the in-game month.
  • Recovery is available both from the career selection menu and in case the current save fails to load.

! The first launch after this update may take longer, as old saves are migrated to the new format. Saves that were already corrupted or had issues before this update due to any OS related issues most likely cannot be recovered.

Other Fixes

  • Fixed player and staff gender — the game no longer refers to everyone with female pronouns.
  • Fixed raw placeholders showing instead of words in the post-transfer cooldown email.
  • Fixed the intro hanging when the required video codec is missing on the system.