*PLAY NOW* Football Manager 2022: Everything you need to know

Football Manager 2022 has officially arrived!

Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s game, including where to start your first FM 22 save.

PRE-ORDER NOW: Football Manager 2022 at Amazon

LATEST – FM 22 is Available NOW

SI has surprised everyone with an early launch of Football Manager 2022 – as the game is now officially live on PC and Mac!

For those playing the FM 22 beta, it’s worth logging out then opening the game back up to get the day one update.

The day one update is 475MB large – and while we don’t have any official patch notes, we expect it tackles bugs and performance problems expanding on the previous FM 22 Beta update.

New Features Breakdown

Sports Interactive has announced some brand new features coming to this year’s game, and we’ve got you covered for everything you need to know about the new additions.

Data Hub

The arrival of XG and other in-depth statistics in FM21 has led to further development in this year’s release.

The Data Hub will include key guides on the flow of a match, a more in-depth look at pass maps, as well as giving you the ability to request specific statistics from your club’s analysts.

All of this information will serve to improve your team, allowing you to adjust your tactics accordingly.

Match Engine Improvements

As with every year, the match engine has once again seen a vast improvement for FM22.

FM22 will see the arrival of a brand new animation engine, making player movements appear more natural and refined.

With improved graphics comes improved AI, and FM22 will see your players make more intelligent decisions with the ball at their feet.

The days of relentless pressing are also over, with the game also introducing a system that will see your players lose significant stamina over the course of a match, if they don’t suit the system.

Wide Centre-Backs

FM22 gives you even more tactical options, and the introduction of the wide CB is only the start.

Replicating real-life trends, FM22 gives you the option of using a more offensive CB, assisting your full-backs and midfield.

With a totally new role being added to the game, FM players will have even more choice when it comes to picking their squads on a match day.

Best Teams to Manage

Football Manager 2022 is just a few days away from its full launch, meaning its time to start choosing your team for the new season.

From teams filled with wonderkids to fallen giants looking for a resurrection, check out our list of ten clubs you should managing in Football Manager 2022

READ: Best teams to manager in Football Manager 2022

FM22 Revealed

We didn’t expect an announcement just yet – but Sports Interactive has announced the arrival of FM22!

Football Manager 2022 Release Date

FM22 is planned to arrive on 9 November – but you may be able to get a headstart on the rest.

Beta

Those in the know that the FM Beta can be accessed if you pre-order the game.

This tends to be two weeks before the game’s full release – therefore you may be able to get playing from 4 November.

Platforms

Last year, FM was playable on more consoles than ever before.

PC is what most of you will play on, with the title available on Windows and macOS via Steam.

In December we saw the arrival of the handheld version for iOS, Android and Nintendo Switch – as well as the full game returning to Xbox consoles for the first time since 2007.

We saw FM20 available on Google Stadia, but that did not continue for FM21.

Price

FM22 costs £39.99 / $54.99 from the Epic Games or Steam stores, with 10% off for those who pre-purchase (taking it to £36.00 / $49.50).

You can pre-order the game here.

We expect that to be the same for Xbox consoles and Nintendo Switch, but the game will be on Xbox Game Pass on Day One!

We expect the Mobile version to cost £8.99 / $8.99.

New Features

Sports Interactive always make changes to the game’s features and gameplay each season, so what could we see from FM22?

Well, first and foremost, there is room for improvement in the match engine.

Counter-attacks were too powerful in FM21, and set pieces don’t quite have that realistic feel to them.

Outside of matchdays, we would like to see the inclusion of more player faces on the game – yes they can be downloaded via a third party, but with the vast majority of players not having faces on their profiles, this is an area Sports Interactive should look to address.

“Growth”

All we can deduce from the official press release is that FM22 “will give you new ways to earn success for your club”.

We imagine this could be around growing a club’s fan base, as this has been difficult to do in the past.

The trailer references a lot of firsts – like Union Berlin’s best-ever Bundesliga finish – so perhaps these kinds of targets will come into the game.

Licences

The Football Manager franchise does languish behind other football games when it comes to licences.

FM22 Licensed Leagues

On FM21 the following leagues were fully licensed:

• Australian A-League
• Canadian Premier League
• Danish Superliga
• English Football League (EFL)
• English National League
• French Ligue 1
• French Ligue 2
• German Bundesliga
• German 2. Bundesliga
• German 3. Liga
• Gibraltar National League
• Dutch Eredivisie
• Dutch Eerste Divisie
• North Ireland Football League
• Polish Ekstraklasa
• Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL)
• South Korea K League 1
• South Korea K League 2
• MLS
• Welsh Cymru Premier, North & South

FM22 Licensed Teams

As well as these licenced teams:

• Dinamo Zagreb
• Watford
• Chievo
• Empoli
• Lecce
• SPAL
• All Serie A clubs excluding Juventus
• Dutch National Team
• Gibraltar National Team

The above licences will be difficult to add to given many clubs have licensing deals with EA Sports’ FIFA franchise and Konami’s PES – but for first-time players it can be a huge turn-off.

We may not see the Bundesliga licences appear on the game this year, with the German top-flight appearing on rival title We Are Football.

Wonderkids

An FM wonderkid is likely to be the first on your transfer shortlist, so watch out for these stars on the new game:

• Youssoufa Moukoko – Borussia Dortmund
• Mason Greenwood- Manchester United
• Pedri – Barcelona
• Eduardo Camavinga – Rennes
• Fabio Silva – Wolves
• Yusuf Demir – Rapid Vienna
• Nico Serrano – Bilbao Athletic
• Rayan Cherki – Lyon
• Ilaix Moriba – Barcelona B
• Vitor Ferreira – Porto

Is Football Manager 2022 coming to PS5/PS4?

At this time, no information has officially been confirmed regarding whether Sony users get the chance to play Football Manager.

However, we think it is unlikely.

Sports Interactive confirmed before the introduction of last year’s game and explained why PS5/PS4 players will miss out.

“Our friends at @Xbox have spent years asking for us to come back to their consoles. It’s how both FM19 & FM20 ended up on game pass towards the end of the cycle, and now FM21 on Xbox One & Series X/S.

“Sony didn’t.”

Women’s Football ambitions

Women’s football is coming to the FM series, but it won’t be in Football Manager 2022, and even 2023 looks unlikely.

Integrating women’s football into the database will take some time, with discussions with women’s leagues around the world commencing.

Check out our interview with two of the team at Football Manager here.

FM 22 Development Update

The release date for FM 22 drummed up a lot of excitement, but now we have news of a potential development delay that could push the release back.

Don’t start to worry just yet though, everything seems to still be on track as the team works through the struggles of making a game under Covid-19 guidelines.

It looks like the team will take some extra time to fine-tune some new features being brought to gameplay. One of these features is clubs starting with a smaller budget in FM 22.

To read more about the changes and potential delays coming to the game, follow this link!

Source: https://www.realsport101.com/football-manager/football-manager-2022-release-date-latest-news-new-features-licences-price-pre-order-beta-platforms-xbox-ps4-ps5-download/