Football Manager 27 gets November release date

Take a deep breath; it is time to jump into the toxic waste as the internet moans about a game that it (collectively) will buy en masse despite complaining about it and swearing off this year’s release before it was announced. 10 months after the release of Football Manager 26, we have details over the last week about the upcoming “we’re sorry” album: FM27. Though announced yesterday, we got a look at the pre-match build-up, something of the match engine, and a release date. Here is what the press release (and blog post) on the release date notes:

“Delivering greater control, smoother discovery and a more enticing football world, Football Manager 27 launches across platforms from 10 November.

FM27 (PC/Mac) will be available across Steam, Epic and the Xbox PC app, including being available for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass subscribers. Also launching day-one are FM27 Console (Xbox/PS5) and FM27 Mobile (Netflix). Details on further platforms will be confirmed subsequently.” This was joined by a trailer showcasing the “elevated match day atmosphere,” which, if we’re honest, could have been dialed back on the superlatives about the new features. To sum it up, new weather, modern stadiums, fans wear coats and team shirts, and shadows move throughout the game now.

Alongside this trailer, last week we got two other showcases on Football Manager 27. The first video highlighted the revamped UI, which has been politely described as FM24 in Unity. More or less, it is what we had with FM26, but someone who has played the game is designing it again. Emails, or “messages,” now show the Scout Report and Transfer Offers in the messages about said topic without a further click-through. Huzzah! As well as several other things, including making a lot of pop-ups into full screens, adaptive layouts, and a focus on putting as much data in front of you as possible.

The second “deep dive” takes a look at how you interact with the world. One word that is used rightly or wrongly is “immersion.” The trouble with that is that Football Manager players aren’t a monolith; what is immersion to one isn’t to another, so as much as I like the idea of redesigns of the news, competition, club pages, and so on to give more information, the more static points won’t work for others. To once again bring in the “FM24 in Unity” comment I’ve seen, we see the return of cup draws and transfer deadline day.

Of the showcases or deep dives thus far, I don’t particularly hate anything we’re seeing. I might make a snide comment here or there to get ahead of otherwise harsher comments, but I do think we’re moving forward from what was a troubled experience with Football Manager 26. I do think that some of the PR is a bit heavy-handed in building up things like hair physics in the latest video, but you have to sell a game somehow. As many point out, showcasing the game in a “deep dive” with heavy frame drops isn’t helpful.

To return to the press release, we did find out more about when we’ll get to play Football Manager 27 too. “A Launch Preview version of FM27 will be available to play 1-2 weeks before the street date, with further information on that plus digital pre-purchase and discount incentives to follow,” notes the press release. At the earliest, that would put us on the 26th or 27th of October, probably closer to the 2nd or 3rd of November.

At the time of writing, there are no details on when we’ll see the pre-orders drop for FM27, though we do know that the retail price, as noted in the press release, is £49.99 or your regional equivalent. As I always point out, because I’d rather be critical than shill for free, only pre-order if you feel it is right to do so and wait for reviews where possible. Pre-ordering only makes sense when you are guaranteed to get something out of it, so figure that out before spending £50 you don’t have.

That said, as per usual, I am excited to see more of Football Manager 27 over the coming weeks. Mostly hoping for more playable leagues on the Women’s football side, see what else has been refined or added, and eventually get hands-on later this or early next month. Tell us below what you think of FM27 thus far and if you are excited for it.