Regular as clockwork, Sports Interactive has announced Football Manager 2016, this year’s installation of the perennially popular management sim. This is the full, insanely in-depth product, packed with the expected array of new features and tweaks.
For those who prefer something a little bit more manageable, SI has detached the stripped-down Classic mode of recent years, and is offering it up as an alternative product in its own right, now titled Football Manager Touch.
“For some time now it’s been clear to us that there is no ‘one size fits all’ football management experience,” explains Sports Interactive head Miles Jacobson. “While a huge number of our fans have the time and dedication required to devote themselves to the ‘full’ simulation, there’s an equally-large number who prefer a more streamlined option. Not only that, but the widespread availability of mobile devices means that people are playing in different ways. The introduction of Football Manager Touch as a standalone offering – playable across computer and tablet – means that we now offer something for everyone.”
Today’s announcement is really split into two PC titles, then:
Football Manager 2016 introduces two new modes, Fantasy Draft and Create-a-Club. The former allows you to create a dream team to compete in a tournament mini-season with friends, while the latter lets you easily add a custom team to an existing league. You’ll also get a little manager avatar with which to bellow instructions from the touchline in 3D match mode, and the engine has also been upgraded with over 2,000 animations. Set piece tactics have also been reworked, and as always all the new data, transfers and statistics from the 2015-16 season will be added.
Football Manager Touch 2016 strips away the media management, PR and other hardcore simulation aspects of the core game, focusing purely on tactics and transfers. Save games will be cross-compatible across PC and table versions, and the game will ship with FM16’s 3D engine, and the Create-a-Club mode.
There’s no word on pricing differences between the two versions just yet, but we do know that Football Manager 2016 will be released on Friday, November 13, with Football Manager Touch 2016 set to follow on before the end of the year.
