Football Manager 27 Review: The Apology That Mostly Works

Football Manager 27 launched on 10 November 2026, and it arrives with baggage. Last year's Unity relaunch sank to a "Mostly Negative" rating on Steam, and Sports Interactive openly admitted it missed expectations. So FM27 is not just a yearly update - it is an apology. The good news: it is a fairly convincing one.

What it is

The same obsessive football management sim, developed by Sports Interactive and published by SEGA. It is out on PC and Mac (Steam, Epic Games Store, Xbox PC app), on PS5 and Xbox Series as FM27 Console, and on iOS and Android through Netflix. It is also in PC Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate from day one. SEGA's UK price is £49.99; check your local store for the euro figure. A boxed PS5 version follows on 20 November.

What actually changed

The interface is the headline. FM26's tile-and-card layout made simple things take too many clicks. FM27 goes for full-screen lists and shorter routes to the screens you open fifty times a season. It is still not the old skin veterans loved, but it no longer fights you.

On matchday, two new systems carry the weight: Tactical Tweaks and Tactical Effectiveness. The idea is that you react from the touchline and get clearer feedback on whether your plan is working and why. For me this is the best addition in years, because it turns the match from something you watch into something you manage.

Around that sit smaller touches - Cup Draws, a proper Transfer Deadline Day, an overhauled news feed - and Shuffle Draft, a faster multiplayer mode that is a welcome break from the thousand-hour save.

The lows

This is still a rebuild in progress. Early reports note that features from older entries remain absent, including average position data and the season review, and some staff attribute views. There are also mentions of occasional crashes and odd AI decisions at launch. None of this is FM26-level broken, but if you were waiting for a complete return to FM24 depth, it is not here yet.

And the unspoken problem: the licensed Premier League and women's football were already selling points last year. Strip those out and FM27's pitch is "it works properly now". That is worth something, but not full enthusiasm.

Who it's for

- Skipped FM26? This is the version to come back on. - Bought FM26? The improvements are real, but you are paying again for the fix. Game Pass is the smart route. - New to the series? Start on Game Pass or wait for the first sale.

Verdict

Football Manager 27 steadies the ship. The interface is finally usable, the touchline tools add real decisions, and Shuffle Draft is a nice surprise. Missing legacy features and rough edges keep it from greatness.

Score: 7/10

Image: Richard Humphrey / CC BY-SA 2.0, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Floodlight_match_at_Sincil_Bank_Stadium,_home_of_Lincoln_City_-_geograph.org.uk_-_6358501.jpg