It’s all in the details…

SEGA Europe Ltd. and Sports Interactive have today announced the features that will be in Football Manager 2019; all this, combined with the long awaited introduction of the official Bundesliga license, it’s no wonder this is the world’s most popular football management simulation game.

 

Training has had the biggest overhaul in the history of the series, with a lot of new options, sessions, and programmes; Sports Interactive have actually worked closely with real world clubs and coaches to ensure a high level of realism. Managers now have much more control over the way their team plays, as the tactics module has been redone, and new preset tactical style options allow you to select from some of the most popular systems from world football, or develop  your own. There’s more team instructions on offer, and these’ll vary depending on whether your team is in a phase of attack, defense, or transitional play.

There’s 36 licensed clubs, in the top two flights of German football, as Sports Interactive has signed a licensing agreement for clubs from both the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, all dressed up in official club badges, kits, and player faces for the first time in the series’ history. Plus, since they’re including German clubs and leagues, the game will be fully translated into German, bringing it up to 19 languages featured in game.

If you’re a less experienced manager, no need to worry; the brand new “manager induction,” tutorial system is indepth and interactive, allowing you to find your feet without ever leaving the save game. The game’s UI has also been updated with a fresh presentation, leaving it looking sharp and easy to pick up and play.

Miles Jacobson, Director of Football Manager, says: “We’ve been through a major shift as a studio over the last year; moving office, improving our working practices as a team and spending a huge amount of time looking ‘under the hood’ of Football Manager. The result of all this work can be seen throughout Football Manager 2019 – it has a clean new look, and lots of freshness under the hood too, not only with the new features, but also lots of other changes that make it an even more compelling experience to play. We’re all very proud of what we’ve achieved with FM19 and are very much looking forward to hearing what our fans have to say when they get their hands on it.”

Despite there being a lot of debate and controversy over this in real world football, Football Manager 19 is introducing the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) and goal-line technology, which will be used in game as it is in real life – what are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments.

If you want to check out the full extent of the new features, go here, or check out the newly revamped website! Football Manager 2019 will release on PC and Mac on November 2, 2018. Football Manager 2019 Mobile and Football Manager 2019 Touch will also be available from the same date, while the Nintendo Switch version of Football Manager 2019 Touch will be available later in November.

If you pre-purchase the PC or Mac version from a SEGA-approved digital retailer or pre order from a physical participating retailer, you’ll get a nice 10% discount for your trouble. If you pre-purchase through the SEGA-approved digital retailer, you’ll get access to a fully playable beta version, available roughly two weeks before the official release date, and the single player careers will carry through into the full game.

Excited? Want to let us know exactly what you think of the VAR? Let us know in the comments below!