In Football Manager 2018, we brought player dynamics and squad harmony right to the fore. Now you could see in detail how social groups were spread around your squad and who held the most influence. Decisions you make about who plays and who sits things out, and about who you add to the squad, need to fit around those harmonics, and it may require compromises to maintain them.

Building a harmonious dressing room was a nuanced endeavour, so we updated our scouting system to allow for greater subtlety. A true-to-life representation of the techniques used by the world's biggest clubs, it let you carefully apportion resources into different areas scouting, potentially giving you vital information about how new players would improve or disrupt the balance of your dressing room.

On the pitch, the matchday experience was greatly enhanced by a new graphics engine, producing the best lighting, stadia and player models in the series' history, brought together under a sleeker match interface with modernised presentation. There were also redesigned tactics screens, putting analysis at the heart of everything, and a new Medical Centre to help you manage injuries across the squad and watch out for potential ones.

What We Said

As football clubs across the globe are busy making their final signings of the summer, there’s one addition that every football fan needs in their squad… and we’re delighted to reveal that Football Manager 2018 will be ready for action on Friday, November 10th.

Anyone who pre-purchases Football Manager 2018 (for PC, Mac or Linux) through a SEGA approved retailer* will be able to start pre-season at least two weeks prior to the official street date through a fully-playable Beta version (single player careers started in the Beta can be continued in the full game).

In addition, fans who pre-purchase Football Manager 2018 (before Monday, October 9th) and have Football Manager 2017 in their Steam Library will receive a 'Contract Extension Bonus' discount of 25% off their purchase via Steam or the SEGA Store.

What They Said

GameSpot
9/10

"The series' propensity for telling emergent stories has only increased with this emphasis on player personalities and morale, and it bleeds into every other facet of Football Manager 2018's design, from transfers and injuries, to team selection and tactical considerations. These are changes that tilt the simulation closer to reality with captivating aplomb, and ensure that the armchair managers among us are kept busy for another whirlwind 12 months of 40-yard screamers and cup final heartbreak."

PC Gamer
89%

"Is this Football Manager’s most ambitious instalment yet? It’s certainly the most well-rounded in recent memory. Ask me again in 12 months’ time, once my save file has inevitably racked up hours into the hundreds. And by that time I might have won back the dressing room."

The Telegraph
8/10

"Fundamentally, there aren’t many changes to the Football Manager core. This is a yearly update of a series that’s been around for a long time. All the same, there have been fundamental changes to elements of the game, and they’re welcome, and logical."