Football Manager 2027 - Latest News

[Luigi]

Better inbox, staff advice and medical updates

FM27's inbox should be more useful, not just busier.

Monthly messages now cover finances, loanees and board/fan feedback, while the NXGN 50 appears directly in its message. Scouting and fitness reports are easier to scan.

You can adjust training and match prep from messages, act on staff-meeting advice in fewer clicks and get more help with transfer negotiations.

An important new detail: SI worked with the PFA on a concussion recovery protocol. Players need neurologist clearance before returning, with progress tracked in the Medical Centre.

Official details

 

[Luigi]

18 million database updates — and some new rules

SI says FM27 contains 18m+ database changes and 1,500 competition updates, including restructuring in Wales and Northern Ireland, updated continental formats and plenty of fixture-scheduling fixes.

English work permits have been updated, with ESC permits now limited to Under-23s. FIFA's women's staff mandate is also modelled: two female backroom staff, one a Head Coach or Assistant, in covered competitions.

A curious addition is Daylight Offside, trialled in the Canadian Premier League. You can switch it on or off for competitions using the Pre-Game Editor.

The deep dive also mentions two new licensed leagues, without naming them.

Official deep dive

 

[Luigi]

France's Arkema Première Ligue officially licensed in FM27

SI has announced a new agreement with the French Football Federation, bringing the Arkema Première Ligue — France's top women's division — into FM27 with official club crests, kits and player photos.

That includes clubs such as OL Lyonnes, eight-time Women's Champions League winners.

It's another welcome step for women's football in FM. SI recently teased two new licensed leagues, although it hasn't explicitly said whether this is one of that pair.

Officialannouncement

Anyone planning a French women's save?

 

[Luigi]

FM27: the first full gameplay walkthrough is here

SI has released a gameplay walkthrough with Community Manager Chris Groves, using an early-October development build.

Rather than revealing another big mechanic, it shows how the previous deep dives fit together: the customisable Portal and news screens, opponent-focused training, Tactical Effectiveness, matchday lighting and weather, personality-based Shouts, stackable Tactical Tweaks and post-match reports.

It's a much better way to judge the overall flow than isolated screenshots — although this is an edited preview, not an uncut livestream, and the build may still change.

Watch on YouTube

Does seeing it all together change your impression of FM27?

 

[Luigi]

FM27 Touch confirmed for Apple Arcade — 10 November

Another FM27 edition is now confirmed: FM27 Touch launches through Apple Arcade on 10 November.

It will run on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV, with cloud saves across devices and the ability to continue saves from earlier titles.

SI promises improvements to the iPhone interface, Recruitment and Match Preparation, with a dedicated Touch deep dive coming before launch. The existing FM26 Touch App Store page will automatically become FM27 Touch.

This is separate from FM27 Mobile on Netflix. There is no new official Switch, Switch 2 or Android Touch announcement yet.

Officialannouncement

 

[Luigi]

FM27 will be FREE to play from 29 October!

Here's a surprise: SI is letting everyone try Football Manager 27 for free before buying it.

When: 29 October, 19:00 CET → 3 November, 19:00 CET.

Where: PC/Mac via Steam, Epic and Microsoft Store. Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can also play.

This is the new Launch Preview, replacing the old Beta/Advanced Access. It's a near-final build with all game modes available, no career progression limits and no additional registration.

Your save carries over if you decide to buy the game.

After 3 November, continued access requires a qualifying pre-purchase or Game Pass subscription until the full release on 10 November.

Official announcement

Will you give FM27 a try before buying?

 

[Luigi]

FM27 price, pre-purchase and save transfers confirmed

We finally have the full pre-purchase details.

Pre-orders open at 19:00 CET on 29 October through Steam, Epic and Microsoft Store.

Official prices: €59.99 / £49.99 / $59.99, with 10% off through SEGA-approved digital retailers.

Players who pre-purchase can continue playing from 3 November, when the free period ends, right through to the full launch on 10 November.

There's also good news for existing saves:

FM27 Launch Preview saves carry into the full game.
FM24 and FM26 saves can be imported into FM27.


FM27 Console won't have pre-purchases, and the free preview is PC/Mac only.

Official FAQ

Does trying the game for free change your decision to buy?

 

[Luigi]

FM27's first LIVE gameplay stream — watch it back!

SI streamed an extended FM27 playthrough on 22 October, featuring a Brighton save and an appearance from real-life manager Fabian Hürzeler.

Unlike the edited preview we shared earlier, this gives us a longer look at how FM27 actually flows between screens and matches.

Early reactions are mixed but interesting: some viewers praised the smoother interface, competitions screen and 2D visuals; others raised concerns about defending, goalkeeper behaviour and the new Portal.

One more surprise: creators watching the stream report that Draft Mode is returning, with online/offline play and a new Shuffle Draft variation. We're waiting for SI's written breakdown.

Watch the full livestream

What impressed or worried you most?

 

[Luigi]

Shuffle Draft: FM27's new multiplayer mode explained

SI has revealed Shuffle Draft, a reimagining of Fantasy Draft built with FIFAe.

• Play with 2–32 managers in private/public online lobbies, or against AI offline.
• Choose a knockout cup, group stage + knockouts, or a league (up to 20 teams).
• Everyone picks simultaneously from rotating sets of 20 players — no waiting for your turn.
• Use custom player pools or presets like Wonderkids, Veterans and World's Best.
• Squads can contain 14, 16, 18 or 20 players. Men's and women's players have separate events.

Official feature reveal

 

[Luigi]

Shuffle Draft's twist: Re-Drafts

The biggest difference from the old Fantasy Draft is that your squad doesn't have to stay the same for the entire tournament.

Hosts can enable up to five Re-Drafts, where managers return players to the pool or remove them from the event and choose replacements. Each Re-Draft can involve up to 20 returns/removals, depending on the host's settings.

Injuries and fatigue reset between matches, while tactics and the Match Engine work as they do in Career Mode.

Official FAQ

FM Base idea: Would you join a community Shuffle Draft tournament? Wonderkids-only, lower-league legends, or a completely custom player pool?

 

[Luigi]

Saudi Arabia arrives in FM27 — and both new licences are confirmed

The Roshn Saudi League is now officially playable and fully licensed in FM27. All 18 clubs get their real crests, kits and player photos, taking the game to 59 playable nations.

And there's fresh confirmation today: SI's newly published official FM27 licence list explicitly names the two new licensed leagues as:

• Roshn Saudi League (Saudi Arabia)
• Arkema Première Ligue (France, women's football)

The list also details the existing FIFA, UEFA, domestic competition and club licences. In Italy, for example, some clubs are listed individually rather than the entire men's Serie A.

Official FM27 licence list

A couple more FM27 details

SI has shown a more involved Director of Football, who can now take a more active part in transfer negotiations and offer advice to help get deals over the line. It's an improvement to the role, not confirmation of a full Director of Football career mode.

There's also a welcome localisation update: Bahasa Indonesia is now an in-game language option for FM27.

And the first gameplay stream showed a quick-start option to manage a national team directly from the start screen.

Official DoF clip · Language announcement

 

[Luigi]

First hands-on previews: is FM27 finding its feet?

Journalists have spent several hours with FM27 at SI's studio, and early impressions are cautiously positive.

Nathan Bliss says it feels like Football Manager again, praising the more familiar navigation, direct links, cup draws and match data. Forbes' Barry Collins reports a smoother, more stable experience than FM26.

But there are still complaints: limited navigation during matchday, familiar press-conference frustrations and some bugs.

These are short hands-on previews, not full reviews. Only longer saves will tell us whether the improvements hold up.

Nathan Bliss preview · Forbes first look

Have the previews changed your expectations?

FM27 free Launch Preview starts TONIGHT — share your first impressions!

At 19:00 CET today (29 October), FM27 opens for free on PC/Mac through Steam, Epic and Microsoft Store.

The free window runs until 3 November, 19:00 CET. All modes and features are available, with no progress limits; saves carry into the full game on 10 November.

We'll finally be able to test the big claims ourselves. If you're playing, tell us:

• Does the new UI actually feel faster?
• How are the 2D/3D Match Engine and defensive AI?
• Do Tactical Tweaks and Tactical Effectiveness make a difference?
• What bugs, missing features or pleasant surprises have you found?

Please share screenshots and your PC specs for performance reports. Some licensed assets may still be missing from the near-final build.

Official free-play details

 

[Luigi]

FM27 Shuffle Draft Showdown — watch the full tournament!

Yesterday, Sports Interactive brought together eight Football Manager creators for the first-ever Shuffle Draft Showdown, giving us our best look yet at FM27's new multiplayer mode in action.

The competitors: Zealand, DoctorBenjy, lollujo, Clayts, BigRobbo, SecondYellowCard, Arthur Ray and Guru.

Hosted by Nerdphonic, the tournament showcased the new simultaneous draft system, tactical battles and competitive matches.

And the winner? Congratulations to Arthur Ray, who defeated DoctorBenjy on penalties in the final! Cherki and Donnarumma were among his standout players.

Missed it? You can watch the full tournament below:

Watch on YouTube

 

[Luigi]

FM27 Minor Update 1 is out — what's next?

Sports Interactive released the first small Launch Preview update on 2 November.

It fixes three reported problems:

• The missing clickable scrollbar when selecting clubs in Advanced Setup.
• UEFA squad registration messages sometimes failing to appear.
• The Save Game option becoming unavailable after that registration issue.

More importantly, SI has outlined its update plans.

Another update is planned for the full launch on 10 November, focusing on optimisations.

The first post-launch update will address further player reports, with particular attention to the 3D Match Engine — including defending, pressing and chance creation.

SI is still evaluating what changes to implement, so specific Match Engine fixes aren't guaranteed yet.

Official patch notes

 

[Luigi]

FM27: Max Dowman and Arsenal youngsters disappear after update

A strange and frustrating problem has emerged following Minor Update 1.

Players report that several Arsenal youngsters, including Max Dowman, have disappeared from the database. Some existing saves even show affected players suddenly retiring when loaded after the update.

SI's Community Team says some players are absent for legal and licensing reasons, but hasn't published a complete list or explained when they might return.

An unofficial fix is available: Sortitoutsi has released a data file restoring several Arsenal youth players.

However, its creator currently says a new save is required. It won't automatically restore players lost from existing careers.

Unofficial Arsenal youth data update

Has anyone lost players from an existing save?

 

[Luigi]

FM27: some pre-purchasers hit anti-tamper errors

The free Launch Preview ended on 3 November at 19:00 CET, but the transition to paid early access hasn't been smooth for everyone.

Some players who purchased FM27, including buyers using Steam keys from third-party retailers, reported a Denuvo/anti-tamper error preventing the game from launching.

SI's support team acknowledged the reports and said it was working with partners to resolve them.

Support suggestions include:
• Completely closing and restarting Steam.
• Checking whether VPN or security software is interfering.
• Opening a support ticket if the error continues.

There's no confirmed universal fix for this latest issue yet.

Pre-purchasers and eligible PC Game Pass subscribers should retain access until the full launch on 10 November, with their saves intact.

Official access information

Did you experience the error?

 

[Luigi]

FM27 Console: new features officially detailed

SI has released its dedicated FM27 Console feature breakdown ahead of the 10 November launch on Xbox Series X|S and PS5.

The biggest additions include:

• Redesigned Recruitment, Player Database and negotiation screens.
• A new "Find similar players to..." search.
• Live backroom-staff advice during transfer negotiations.
• Match Preparation with up to three sessions: In Possession, Out of Possession and Set Pieces.
• Customisable controller buttons, navigation sticks and display scaling.

Console players also get Shuffle Draft from day one, Tactical Tweaks, improved Shouts, returning Cup Draws, and Pass/Heat Maps.

OfficialConsole deep dive

The Community Says: is Tactical Effectiveness too powerful?

Now that players have spent some time with FM27, one of the biggest debates is about Tactical Effectiveness.

Some argue the system makes it too difficult to turn a struggling season around: change tactics, lose familiarity and potentially struggle even more.

Others welcome it, saying squads shouldn't instantly master entirely new systems.

There are also questions about pressing and defensive behaviour, with players and creators reporting fewer tackles and high-intensity sprints than in previous FM versions.

These are early community observations, not conclusive Match Engine findings. SI has already confirmed that pressing, defending and chance creation are being reviewed for a post-launch update.

Officialcommunity feedback thread

Is FM27 genuinely more challenging, or are some mechanics overtuned?