Gadsme has secured an exclusive three-year partnership with Sports Interactive and Sega to integrate its immersive in-game advertising technology into Football Manager 26.
The deal will debut with the upcoming release and represents a major evolution for the long-running franchise, blending premium brands into the simulation without disrupting gameplay. The implementation sounds similar to what Gadsme announced with Konami earlier this year.
The Gadsme SDK allows for display, video, and audio placements that are designed to feel like natural parts of the game environment. For Football Manager 26, these ads will appear across stadiums and other areas of the game, adding a new layer of realism while creating an additional revenue stream for the developer and publisher.
“Securing this partnership with Sports Interactive is a milestone moment for Gadsme,” Simon Spaull, co-founder and chief revenue officer at Gadsme, said in a prepared statement. “After our successful collaboration with Konami, this deal reinforces our vision for immersive, player-friendly advertising in top-tier gaming experiences. We’re excited to bring our technology to Football Manager and deliver value for both players and brands.”
Richard Trafford, director of business development and partnerships at Sports Interactive, emphasized that the integration would not compromise player experience. “Gadsme’s expertise in non-intrusive advertising aligns perfectly with our commitment to realism and player experience. We’re confident this partnership will enhance FM26 while introducing our global fanbase to premium brands in authentic ways,” Trafford said in a prepared statement.
The addition of Gadsme technology coincides with several other key milestones for Football Manager 26. The game is moving to the Unity engine, which will allow for new gameplay features and visual enhancements. It will also bring men’s and women’s football into a single ecosystem for the first time, a change that reflects the growing integration of women’s football into the global game.
For Gadsme, the Sports Interactive deal strengthens its position as a leader in immersive, non-intrusive advertising for games. Its analytics suite ensures brands can measure and optimize campaigns while developers maintain game stability and player trust. For Sports Interactive, the move underscores a strategy of enhancing realism while opening new monetization avenues that don’t rely on traditional microtransactions.