After a few weeks in early access beta, Football Manager 2022 has now been implemented. That means you can now pick up the demo in destruction from Steam, Epic, or for the first time as part of Xbox Game Pass.
Here’s the launch trailer for the game, featuring the young Barcelona midfielder, Pedri, and various avatars of what you do in the game.
Football Manager’s data screens are hard to make sexy, but I’m not sure I want to be whatever the augmented reality network player is depicted in the trailer above, pointing to the icon. clothes and big applause. Football Manager’s real energy is close to Sean Bean waxing on train footage to promote Train Simulator 2014 (and with diminishing returns in 2015).
Key new features of Football Manager 2022 include improved on-field animations, a new data center to reveal information about matches and player performance, and new staff meetings. We’ll have a review of the game over the weekend.
You can pick up FM2022 from Steam or Epic for £40/€55. As noted above, it’s also available as part of a first-time Xbox Game Pass subscription. That includes both main game and Separate Xbox version.
This is where things get a little confusing and a bit disappointing. In previous years, Football Manager has been streamlined Touch versions are available on Steam, mobile, and more recently the Epic Games Store. FM Touch is a faster way to experience a football simulation that feels closer to how the movie played circa 2005 or earlier.
This year’s release, FM2022 Touch, is sadly only available for the Nintendo Switch, with no Steam, Epic, or mobile release.
FM2022 Xbox Edition, meanwhile, is based on the Touch version and is generally the same game. It’s available to play on PC, but annoyingly not via Steam – only via Windows 10 Store and Xbox Game Pass.
Sports Interactive explained back in october that these decisions were made reflecting declining sales of the Touch versions on PC and the difficulty of game development during the pandemic. I sympathize, but still a little confused about it.
I don’t have much time and generally prefer the stripped-down versions to the full-fat releases of Football Manager, these days. I guess it’s a relief that I can still get it through the Xbox Edition, but having to interact with the Windows store in any capacity is a curse. I’m not sure what to do, but you can compare all new versions of the game here.
