Last month we revealed the historic, headline-grabbing news that Football Manager 2022 with Xbox Game Pass for PC and Football Manager 2022 Xbox Edition with Xbox Game Pass will be available day one with Xbox Game Pass on November 9. Like you, we’re counting down the days until you’ll be able to take your seat in the digital dugout. Let’s delve into new features and game upgrades to give you an idea of what you can expect in both FM22 and FM22 Xbox as you work your way to becoming a managerial great.
Unparalleled Realism
Football Manager is the closest experience there is to being a real manager at one of the world’s greatest football teams. The professional world of football has been carefully modelled and recreated to empower you to live out you dreams in your own football story. From signing the best talent and youth prospects, to creating a winning tactical identity – you’re in control of the decisions that define your club’s legacy.
In FM22, you’ll have full control over all aspects of football management – both on and off the pitch. You’ll not only be tasked with building a team capable of challenging for the biggest prizes in football, but you’ll have to deal with the demands and expectations of your players, the fans, the owners and the media along the way.
FM22 Xbox takes you away from the media circus and streamlines your interactions with fans and the owners, allowing you to focus on the managerial essentials – transfers, tactics and matchdays. If you want to focus solely on squad building and escalate your ascent to the top of the footballing world, there’s also the option to skip straight to the final whistle using our ‘Instant Result’ feature which simulates your result.
Tailored to work across the Xbox ecosystem, FM22 Xbox is designed to make full use of the Xbox Controller – including a wealth of improvements in this area for the new season – and harnesses the power of Play Anywhere technology that allows you to transfer your progress between your console and Windows 10 PC using the same Xbox Live profile. If you’re playing on Xbox Series X|S, you’ll also benefit from stunning 4K visuals.
New Season, New Features
This year, we’ve placed a real emphasis on giving you more tools to succeed. We’ve focused on making the squad information more intuitive and actionable. We’ve also improved the interactions you have with key backroom members, who now support you far better – just like in the real world of football. As well as boosting your pre-match planning, we’ve introduced a wide range of features that advance our everlasting pursuit of creating the perfect football management simulation.
A major new addition across both FM22 and FM22 Xbox is the Data Hub. This is the home of all your analytics and where you can gain insights and advice from your backroom team that can boost your chances of success on matchday. From data on your team’s overall performance to individual player analysis that can influence how you manage their development, there is more information that can shape how you get the best out of your squad. You can also access new data visualisations such as pass maps and momentum graphs that make it clearer where things went right or wrong for your team over the course of the 90 minutes. In FM22, you can take things even further and take more hands-on role with data analysis, requesting reports and visualisations on specific areas. The best clubs use data to power their performance on the pitch… now you can also.
We’ve brought a suite of improvements and upgrades to the match experience in both FM22 and FM22 Xbox that make it our most realistic simulation of on-pitch action to date. An improved animation system – including the addition of root motion – ensures that player movements on and off the ball are better replicated. On the ball, players will now benefit from a wider range of animations – such as Cruyff turns –that can help unlock opposition defences while returning managers will notice big improvements in the smoothness of player animations. Our AI has also reached new levels with enhancements to the pressing system as well as tweaks to pass accuracy and first touches that make the passage of play over a match feel more realistic than ever. We’ve also introduced a new player role, the Wide Centre-Back, which can be deployed in a back three defence to either overlap the midfield and turn defence into attack or hang back and deal with the threat of opposition wingers cutting inside.
Transfer Deadline Day has also been expanded in both FM22 and FM22 Xbox to include more of the excitement, speculation and intrigue that surrounds one of the most dramatic days in the football calendar. You’ll be more informed of done deals as they happen as well as deals that are under negotiation and players that have just become available on the market for you to snatch from under a rival’s nose.
We recently delved into these features and other FM22 additions such as the new Staff Meeting in our In the Studio series, featuring special guests from the SI team and the world of football, such as Fabrizio Romano. Both episodes can be found on the Football Manager YouTube channel.
This year for FM22 Xbox, we’ve placed a lot of focus on improving the way that the game’s user interface works with the Xbox Controller to make navigating from screen to screen even easier. We’ve revisited the UI across the whole game and looked at ways that we can make improvements across a multitude of screens that add up to a significantly improved experience when using the Xbox Controller. This is particularly noticeable when scrolling through screens containing tables and lists with the new ability to multi-select rows of information. You’ll also want to keep an ear out while working your way through the game as we’ve added in some new sound effects as you interact with the UI.
Finally, another new feature specifically built for FM22 Xbox is News Effects. This gives you clear feedback on how player morale or player attributes (such as Passing or Tackling) have been impacted by your actions or events at your club, for example if you comment on transfer speculation relating to a particular player in your squad. They’re displayed along the bottom of relevant news items with positive effects being reflected with a thumbs up and a thumbs down displaying if the player or group of players have been negatively affected.
Earn It for your Club
Overcoming the odds and earning your success is what Football Manager is all about. Whether it’s fighting your way to the top of the game and shocking the world or clawing your way back from the brink – these are the moments that taste sweetest.
With more than 2,000 clubs across 53 nations available for you to choose from, where will you earn it in FM22 and FM22 Xbox?
Related:
Football Manager 2022 Launching Day One with Xbox Game Pass
Lead Your Team to Glory in Football Manager 2021: Xbox Edition, Coming December 1
