The latest edition of the legendary Football Manager series is now on the shelves, with fans of the beautiful game able to take charge of their favourite teams from around the world or even have a go at bringing the World Cup home from Qatar.
As always, the team behind FM have been busy adding and refining new features to the game, setting 2023 apart from its predecessors. It would take far too long to list every single change made this year but here are a few of the biggest things to look out for when you get your hands on the new edition.
Recruitment and Squad Planning
Football ManagerRecruitment is of course a key part both of managing in real life and in Football Manager, and the system has been completely revamped this year to make it more realistic than ever before.
The new Squad Planner makes it easy for players to assess their team's strength, with lists showing every option for positions and roles across the pitch and ratings from your assistant manager. Move your favoured options up and down the pecking order or even remove them entirely in favour of that promising wonderkid who tops your transfer shortlist...
Further features like the Experience Matrix and an enhanced scouting system means more information than ever before to put together a world-beating team while still staying within budget.
Big European nights
There is nothing like a night of Champions League football, with the mere playing of the competition's signature song guaranteed to stir the blood. Now, you can recreate that same emotion from the comfort of your own home!
For the first time in FM history, all three UEFA club competitions are fully licensed, bringing a new dimension not just to Champions League clashes but to the Europa and Conference Leagues too. That means an exhaustive attention to detail to make European qualification a real reward, including special walkout cutscenes (and music) before kick-off, a unique camera angle and, of course, that iconic music.
Career Chronicles
Football ManagerAs any veteran Football Manager player knows, the only thing sweeter than a successful career is the opportunity to share your achievements with everyone and anyone willing to listen. Every career on the game is unique, be it a commanding march to European glory with one of the continent's giants or a thankless slog through the lower leagues before finally making the big time.
This time, budding storytellers have a new tool at their disposal. The Dynamic Manager Timeline allows the player to display and track achievements and milestones for each career they start, creating a vivid visual memory of all those hours put in. More than 50 'events' will appear on the DMT, covering the good, the bad and even the ugly, and all are designed to be easily shared across social media platforms to better show off your latest career feats.
But wait, there's more...
The improvements and innovations do not end there.
Every new Football Manager release includes exhaustive work to the AI and match engine, and 2023 is no exception. Your computer-controlled managerial adversaries are now armed with a new model which transforms their approach to tactics and match scenarios, whether they are chasing a lead, battening down the hatches when meeting your goal-happy league leaders or going all-out in a key title, promotion or relegation battle.
Players, too, will act far more realistically on the pitch in the 3D match engine, with both their decision-making capabilities – particularly between the posts, where goalkeepers can now pull off new saves and use their physiques far more effectively – and the animation engine undergoing a significant leap in quality.
And where would any club be without their fans? Those in the stands have always played their part in FM, but 2023 sees them take their biggest role yet, with new profiles for each part of the fanbase – just like in real life, some are diehards, others more casual, and react to events in their own fashion – and their confidence in your management will take on a newly elevated role, meaning that now it is not just the stuffed shirts in the boardroom you must keep happy in order to succeed. As we said above, though, these are just a few of the changes to come this year: to find them all you will have to try out the game yourself!