Football Manager 2024: Release date, early access beta, new features and improvements

With the days ticking down until the release of Football Manager 2024, Sky Sports details all you need to know about a game described as a "love letter to football"...

When and where does FM24 come out?

FM24 will be released from 4pm on Monday November 6, as will Football Manager 2024 Console on PlayStation 5 and Xbox, and Football Manager 2024 Touch on Nintendo Switch.

When will early access be available?

Early access to FM24 will be available to those who purchase the game from participating retailers around two weeks before the official release date.

However, early access to FM23 came two-and-a-half weeks before the game was officially released. Miles Jacobson, Sports Interactive's studio director, said early access will "literally roll out when we believe it to be ready".

Early access is only available to those playing the PC version via Steam and Epic.

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What are the new features?

One of the more fascinating features to be introduced in FM24 will be presented to users as soon as they begin the game, with the option of three different ways to start their first save.

Along with the standard option of loading the most accurate data and squads, users will also be able to choose from 'real world' and 'your world' options.

'Real world' allows users to load squads as they were on the real-life date of the start of their save, with transfers then taking place on the day they occurred in reality.

'Your world' goes further, resetting squads and budgets to how they were on the date the save begins and cancelling transfers beyond that date - essentially allowing users to pick up where the 2022/23 season left off.

Anyone still engrossed in their FM23 save will also be pleased to see the option to transfer their existing game to FM24.

FM24 players will benefit from an overhaul of the way squad members are sold, with the ability to discuss the possibility of them leaving with their agents. Agents can then be asked to find buyers for players you want to move on, or an intermediary can be hired to do the job.

Intermediaries are a new addition to FM and are designed to make selling players easier, either by generating interest in a player or by assisting in their sale, before taking a cut of the final fee.

FM24 also sees the beginning of a partnership with TransferRoom, a platform used by real-life clubs to advertise the players they want to sell and search for potential new recruits.

Another new introduction are set-piece coaches, which arrive as part of an upgrade to the way users can create and manage their set-pieces. Managers will be given greater control over attacking and defensive set-pieces, while greater emphasis will be placed on players' attributes rather than their positions.

Elsewhere, managers can now set individual targets for their players in a bid to incentivise improved performance.

All three divisions of the Japanese J. League will also be included for the first time, including official logos, kits and player photos.

What other improvements have been made?

The transfer market is designed to be more reflective of reality thanks to several improvements. These include clubs considering additional factors, such as form and reputation, when signing players, while they will also be more effective at recruiting players that fit their managers' style of play.

As a result, users are likely to face increased competition for players in the transfer market.

Managers can now face the challenge of dealing with negative transfer budgets, either when taking over a club or by overspending available funds. This can lead to the board instructing users to raise funds or even taking control of their transfer budget and selling players.

The biggest on-pitch upgrade is set to be the improvements to positional play, which will see players adapt their positions on the pitch based on the instructions given to them and their team-mates.

For example, managers should be better able to replicate the likes of Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola, whose sides shift from a back-three to a back-four depending on whether they are in or out of possession.

Helping to facilitate this is the inverted full-back role, which has been introduced to FM24 and allows a player to operate as a regular full-back out of possession but then become a third centre-back in possession.

Graphics have also been improved to provide better lighting and pitch textures during matches.

Work has also been done to improve AI managers' team selections and decision-making, including improved logic when rotating players and developing youth prospects.

What about FM24 Mobile?

FM24 Mobile will now be available exclusively to Netflix members.

Jacobson explained this came after "looking for ways to secure Football Manager Mobile's future" amid declining sales, adding Netflix convinced the studio that "this was the way forward for the game".

Women's football and what comes next

FM24 will be, in the words of Jacobson, "a love letter to football" as well as the "closing of this chapter in our history".

From FM25, the game will be pivoting to Unity, an engine that will power a graphics overhaul and a new user interface inside and outside of matchdays.

Women's football will also be introduced into FM25, three years after it was first revealed.

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