Football Manager can only be activated and played through the Steam platform since FM12. The game can be purchased as a boxed copy or a digital download, but both versions require Steam and an Internet connection.
Football Manager will need Internet access for its activation process because Steam is a network-based platform. FM customers that do not want Steam to connect to Internet can launch the Steam client in “Offline Mode” after installation. Internet access after installation of the game will only be needed to apply game patches or Steam updates, play network games or use any of the uploading features included in FM.
We have outlined below the steps to set Steam to Offline Mode.
1) Start Steam whilst being connected to the Internet - make sure that the “Remember my password” box on the login window is checked
2) Verify that all game files are completely updated and that there are no current downloads on Steam (“View” -> “Downloads”)
3) Launch the game(s) you would like to play offline to verify that there are no further updates to download. Shut down the game(s) and return to Steam once you have confirmed that the game(s) can be played
4) Go to “Steam” -> “Settings” to ensure that the “Don't save account credentials on this computer” option is NOT selected
5) Click on the top left “Steam” menu and select “Go Offline”
6) Select “Restart in Offline Mode”. This will restart the Steam client and it will no longer connect to Internet when it is launched
If you would like to reconnect Steam to the Internet in the future to download game updates, activate new products or play multiplayer modes on your games, please select “Go Online” from the top left “Steam” menu.
Football Manager will need Internet access for its activation process because Steam is a network-based platform. FM customers that do not want Steam to connect to Internet can launch the Steam client in “Offline Mode” after installation. Internet access after installation of the game will only be needed to apply game patches or Steam updates, play network games or use any of the uploading features included in FM.
We have outlined below the steps to set Steam to Offline Mode.
1) Start Steam whilst being connected to the Internet - make sure that the “Remember my password” box on the login window is checked
2) Verify that all game files are completely updated and that there are no current downloads on Steam (“View” -> “Downloads”)
3) Launch the game(s) you would like to play offline to verify that there are no further updates to download. Shut down the game(s) and return to Steam once you have confirmed that the game(s) can be played
4) Go to “Steam” -> “Settings” to ensure that the “Don't save account credentials on this computer” option is NOT selected
5) Click on the top left “Steam” menu and select “Go Offline”
6) Select “Restart in Offline Mode”. This will restart the Steam client and it will no longer connect to Internet when it is launched
If you would like to reconnect Steam to the Internet in the future to download game updates, activate new products or play multiplayer modes on your games, please select “Go Online” from the top left “Steam” menu.
