What we know about Football Manager 2021

Football Manager 2021 was announced on September 24th, not unveiling any new features as expected. There are certain facts we already knew before that and some others within the announcement.

On this page, we're listing all officially confirmed facts alongside estimates of what we can expect and when. This way you can be easily checking everything we know about Football Manager 2021 during the pre-release period.

I'll keep this summary piece constantly updated, so check back often for new information.

Football Manager 2021 New Features

FM 2021 Release Dates

• FM21 out in late November, specifically on the 24th.


• FM 21, FM Touch 21 and FM Mobile 21 will all be released simultaneously on the same day, like last year.


• FM 20 coming to Xbox for the first time after 13 years with a December release.


• FM21 & FMT21 Beta versions will be made available roughly two weeks prior to the official release date. November 10th is a possible date.


• The free FM2021 Demo is expected on the same day as the final game release.


• FM 2021 Touch for Nintendo Switch will follow in December.

Pre-purchase FM21 from FM Scout Start playing 2 weeks earlier with early beta access, and get FM Touch 2021 for PC/Mac (worth £21.99) as a gift!

Timeline of official FM21 News

Sports Interactive's studio director Miles Jacobson and the official Football Manager account (both on Twitter) are the 2 sources of verified news about the game. The details below are all originally posted on these 2 Twitter accounts.

Schedule

Gameplay feature complete mid August (estimate)	UI feature complete late August (estimate)
Art complete mid September (estimate)	Start taking screens/videos mid-late September onward
Feature announce 24 September	Beta release 10 November (estimate)

Estimates are based on what happened last year.

FM21 Trailer

News between announce day and feature reveals

• Early beta access will unlock circa 2 weeks before release, but not earlier than that (unlike previous years).
  September 24th / Source


• Microsoft spent years asking SI to bring the game back to the Xbox console.
  September 24th / Source


• It remains unconfirmed whether FM21 will be released on Google Stadia. It's likely, but not finalized yet.
  September 24th / Source


• The hummel kit shown in the FM21 trailer might become a merch item in the future.
  September 24th / Source

FM21 Announce Day - 24 September 2020

• New FM21 features will be announced in early October.


• FM21 release date announced.


• Football Manager returns to Xbox more than a decade later with the FM21 Xbox edition.


• FM21 minimum system requirements made public.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the new features of FM21?
Sports Interactive won't say because the game is not ready for showing yet. Not all features are final at this point, they’ll begin to showcase new features from early October.

Can my computer run FM21? It runs FM20 no problem.
According to the official product page on Steam store, here are FM21 minimum system requirements. Sports Interactive suggest that if your computer runs FM20 okay, you should be fine with FM21 as the system specs are similar. Key difference is raising the minimum RAM required from 2 to 4 GB and dropping support Intel Pentium 4 processors.

When is the Pre-Release Beta?
The pre-release Beta is out approximately two weeks before the final release, so it should unlock around November 10th or so.

Will Football Manager Touch 2021 run on my Tablet?
A compatibility list for tablets will be made available closer to release.

What's happening with the Nintendo Switch version?
The Nintendo Switch version of the FM Touch 2021 will be released in December.

Will FM21 come to PlayStation?
No, only on Xbox as far as non-handheld consoles go.

If you have any questions, feel free to post in the comment section down below.

Pre-purchase FM21 from fmscout.com to enjoy early access to the Beta version by early-mid November, a free copy of FM Touch 2021 for PC/Mac (also with early Beta access), a unique buyer badge on our site, and our gratitude for supporting our community financially.