The last few years have been particularly turbulent for the makers of Football Manager, Sports Interactive (SI). First, there was the lack of FM25, and then many complained about FM26.
Shortly after SI’s perceived struggles in recent years, would they be keen to hype up the next edition of the game, FM27? Surely, wouldn’t they?
A lack of information on FM27
Over the years, SI have been very proactive at sharing information about their latest editions of the game. This was both to get fans excited and also to encourage sales.
This information was usually released, or even leaked, well in advance, which, as I can remember, has sometimes been as early as June, with the game being released in late October or early November. However, we have had barely any information on FM27.
However, we did have a post in the SI official forum on July 13th to say that there would be more information about the new edition of the game in the coming months.
I have to say that doesn’t fill fans with confidence, considering what happened with the FM25 debacle. You can’t blame fans for feeling slightly nervous about whether the game will be an improvement on FM26, or even, in the extreme, actually be released.
Hopefully SI will actually listen to the community
The Football Manager community is notoriously vocal when it comes to their game. For many, like myself, it’s the only computer/video game I actually find time to play in a hectic schedule.
SI have always been willing to listen to the fans of the game in order to help the game progress and improve.
I am not sure if it’s just me, or whether SI have become a bit more unwilling to listen to the community.
For me, FM26 is not the disaster that many fans have made it out to be. No, I can’t say it was anywhere near as good as FM24, which was arguably the pinnacle of FM games so far.
However, SI were trying to be brave with FM26 by using a new game engine, and that was always going to have some teething problems. The same was true of earlier editions of the game when the previous engine was first used.
Without experimentation, nothing ever moves forward. That is what SI were doing with FM26. They were trying something new to help the franchise take a leap forward.
While the game isn’t awful in my opinion, many players have made suggestions in forums and such that could well improve the game. They could even make it more playable.
My concern is that those valid suggestions, which would have previously been taken into account, won’t now be listened to, as it seems that SI may be slightly more defensive to suggestions from the community due to criticism of FM26, and also the lack of FM25.
Hopefully that is not the case, and it is just my very vivid imagination, and Si will implement some of the community ideas in FM27.
I am not expecting much evolution from FM26
With FM26, it was a case of SI crawling before they could walk. The new engine was always going to be hated by some and loved by others. Obviously, the game didn’t meet with universal approval from the FM community.
I don’t think FM27 will be much of an evolution from FM26. In the past, the game has always had small changes from edition to edition.
It gradually grew, and the result was FM24. It will take a while until we reach that point with this engine.
SI has stated they have taken into account concerns from FM players about FM26. However, there is no going back to FM24 style. That is now gone.
The challenge that now faces SI is to mould FM26 into the sort of game that both the new users they are trying to attract and, more importantly, FM stalwarts also want to play.
Those FM stalwarts are the ones who play the game obsessively and have the power to help the game progress into the future. Ignore those fans, and all you will be left with is a game that casual players will only play occasionally.
The community, which is what has made FM so good over the years, will slowly disappear.
With FM27, SI have to show those loyal players that the game is moving in the right direction, without losing the facets that made it great in the past, such as depth, immersion and efficient navigation. Good luck with that. You are going to need it!
