The Football Manager video game series is one of the most popular around and its appeal has endured for decades.
From the original Championship Manager years to the newest incarnations, the management simulation game has grown to the point where it has even penetrated the real-world of football.
Each year Sports Interactive and their team of creative developers endeavour to ensure that the latest game is the most up-to-speed and in-depth management simulation.
Football Manager 2018 is the most recent edition, but the masterminds behind the game are already be looking to the future.
Football Manager 2019 is still a few months away from release, but Goal will be monitoring the latest details as they emerge.
Football Manager 2019 release date
It has been confirmed that Football Manager 2019 will be released on November 2, 2018 , just in time for gamers to get the simulation game into their Christmas stockings.
As well as the main version of the game, Football Manager will launch two more editions, Football Manager Touch and Football Manager Mobile, which are scaled down versions that can be also played on mobile devices, such as tablets and phones.
Like last year, FM Touch and FM Mobile will be released on the same day as the main game.
How much will Football Manager 2019 cost?
Football Manager 2019 will cost £37.99 in the United Kingdom (€54.99 in Europe), which means that the price remains the same as Football Manager 2018.
The 2018 edition of the game rose in price last year from £34.99 to £37.99, but fans will be pleased to learn that there is no fluctuation in cost this year.
Those who pre-purchase the game via Steam before the November 2 release date will avail of a 10 per cent discount , meaning that the game will cost £34.19 (€49.49).
Pre-purchases also include the perk of being able to play a beta version of the game two weeks early – so roughly from October 19.
Each purchase of Football Manager 2019 automatically includes a copy of Football Manager Touch (for PC/Mac only).
Last year, FM Touch on its own was cheaper than the full version of the game at £21.99 (€29.99), while FM Mobile, which allows users to play on iPhone or Android, cost £8.99.
There are likely to be other promotional offers in place in the lead up to the official launch of the new game.
Last year, for example, those who already had Football Manager 2017 in their Steam library were able to avail of a 25% discount on the new game provided they purchased within a specific timeframe.
During the World Cup, there were also additional discounts for FM2018, allowing gamers who had yet to get their hands on the new edition to receive 66% off the overall price of the game.
New features for Football Manager 2019
It is too early to know for sure what sort of new features will be introduced in any new Football Manager game, but announcements are pencilled in for the end of September and October. What we do know, however, is that over the past few years the developers have been gradually expanding the simulation to include as many true-to-real-life additions as possible.
The 2018 edition of the game saw plenty of tweaks to areas such as scouting and transfers, while an all-new squad dynamics window was implemented to provide an even more realistic reflection of the politics and personalities of dressing room.
There were alterations made to the tactics window to make it “less cluttered” and there were new player roles added to give managers more flexibility in terms of what they want from their team. It goes without saying that the game’s developers will probably look to build on these changes in Football Manager 2019.
As well as focusing on the granular detail of managing a football team, the Sports Interactive guys have endeavoured to provide a more malleable world that takes into account real-life issues and political developments that directly affect football.
For example, in FM 2017, Brexit was introduced to the game after developers felt that it was too big of a development to ignore. A variety of possibilities were built in, each with different practical outcomes for managers. It will be interesting to see if they adopt the same approach for other political events that directly impact football in upcoming editions.
For example, in late 2017, Catalunya’s push for independence from Spain was a major talking point in Europe and such an eventuality would have had a knock-on effect on Spanish football, with Barcelona — one of the biggest clubs in the world — among those potentially affected.
Another social issue that has addressed within the simulation is the preemptive idea of homosexual footballers ‘coming out’ , something that remains an extremely rare occurrence in real life. There are sure to be more creative avenues for Sports Interactive to explore, but right now it remains a mystery.
Perhaps even higher on the list than social issues would be the idea of adding women’s football to the game, particularly given its rise in terms visibility in recent years, with many of the sport’s administrators and broadcasters making a conscious effort to promote the female game.
Other developments that could be added to the game are video assistant referees and goal-line technology, which made headlines for positive and negative reasons during the World Cup. With the next edition of the tournament set to be held in Qatar in 2022, Football Manager will have to start planning for how to fit in those winter fixtures rather than simply change the hosts to another country, as was their quick-fix in previous versions.
Football Manager 2019 platforms and devices
The base version of the new Football Manager game will probably be released on PC, Mac and Linux.
Previous editions of FM Touch, meanwhile, are also available on PC, Mac and Linux, so they are likely to follow suit and can also be played on iOS and Android tablets that meet specifications.
FM Touch also made its Nintendo Switch debut in April 2018 and was regularly in the Top 10 chart on the console, meaning the next version is likely to be released on the portable device as well.
FM Mobile is generally released on iOS and Android smartphones.
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