There are some big changes coming to FM25. Last year, in an exclusive interview with Eurogamer about the future of Football Manager, Sports Interactive manager Miles Jacobson described those big changes, particularly those to the game’s UI, as “the most dangerous changes you can make – because people who have the muscle memory to know exactly where to go don’t have that anymore.”
With a game like FM, where the user interface is essentially the game, he’s not exaggerating. Now we’ve got our first look at what some of those changes are, and it seems clear that the studio is getting the negatives out of the way first. The first FM blog on FM25 lists a series of features that will be omitted in the next game.
The biggest is the removal of the Inbox itself, which is essentially the main means of interaction. Until now, Football Manager has been about receiving tasks or information via this Inbox and then dealing with them, whether that be via player conversations, board meetings, or excursions into tactics, training, and analysis data. Below is a first glimpse of a working replacement for the Inbox.
In addition, the most important one is the elimination of shouting on the sidelines: the ability to quickly apply a motivational boost (or in many of my cases, demotivation boost) to your players while a match is in progress. That means no more hammering “Ask more” every time you’re a goal down, and no more polite requests for your current aggressive midfielder to “Take it easy.”
“Shouts have been on the show for years and honestly I’ve never been happy with it,” Jacobson said in the blog. “A shout should happen immediately, but they only took effect after the ball was out of play. It was also not clear to players how long the shout lasted. So, for now, sideline shouts are out of the game.”
“I really want them to come back, but they will only show up again if and when we can do them right.”
In addition to the catchphrases, a number of less used functions have also been released this year. The much-memed social media screen is gone, although social media and fans will of course still be “an integral part of the game”, while the data chalkboard – a data submenu made largely redundant by the addition of the Data Hub – has also disappeared, thanks to its declining use “from 10 percent to less than 1 percent”.
The Create-a-Club mode is also out, with its 5 percent usage by players on the platforms “consistently decreasing” over the years, though there are plans for it to return in a more fleshed-out form in FM26 next year. The Versus mode, which lets you play against other human managers, is also getting a revamp, but won’t be present in FM25 in the meantime, nor will the mobile-focused Challenge mode, or the cult-favourite Fantasy Draft.
That, however, is getting a replacement of sorts in a different form. “When we first envisioned Fantasy Draft mode, we saw its potential as an esport,” Jacobson said. “Over the years, we know many of you have used it in that way – and there have been a few tournaments here and there in various guises.”
Coincidentally, world football’s governing body, rejected EA Sports partner and aficionado of caps-locked messaging, FIFA has partnered with Sports Interactive for a “FIFAe World Cup of Football Manager.” It is an invitation-only tournament taking place this year in Liverpool from August 29 to September 1, with a prize fund of $100,000.
More importantly, the trailer features legendary manager Arsene Wenger pretending to play Football Manager and waxing lyrical about the importance of knowing your Trequartistas from your trivelas. “I look forward to being part of this exciting new journey,” he wrote on the FIFAe website. “This competition requires participants to demonstrate a deep understanding of football strategy and tactics. Success in this format requires not only mastery of game mechanics, but also in-depth football knowledge, making it a fascinating mix.”
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That said, Fantasy Draft will return later, along with FM25’s mid-season update. These usually come in late February each year, shortly after the winter transfer window closes worldwide.
Jacobson promised more news – and more depth on what’s already been revealed – in an update during the Unite event in mid/late September, but he still seems optimistic, just as he was in his conversation with Eurogamer last year.
“It’s getting more modern, it’s getting slicker,” he said, “and — this is a big statement, okay — my dream is that as soon as we release our new UI, the world of productivity tools will look at our UI and say, ‘Why do we didn’t think of that?!’ Because FM is a huge productivity tool, right? You spend a lot of time in it.”
The approach, he said, was to ask: “If we had our time again, would we do it the same way?” It seems there are at least a few big cases where the answer is: not quite. If you’re curious, it’s worth checking out our big Football Manager interview for more on what to expect from FM25.