Here are five things we might see when the new FM 2023 is released this autumn.
Here are five things we might see when the new FM 2023 is released this autumn.
After all, this year’s game has earned rave reviews for its Data Hub and new staff meeting system. One critic even said that ‘if FM22 were a football club, it would be Liverpool, with world-class players in every position’.
Yet despite all this, what’s the harm in having a sneak peek ahead to see what 2023 might have in store for us? Here are five things we might see when the new FM is released this autumn.
Transfer system upgrade
A common complaint of FM22 has been the transfer system working heavily in favour of other clubs.
To be more specific, it seems that any incoming bid for one of your players is enough to unsettle him and cause you problems. Try the same tactic with another club, meanwhile, and you’ll find it rarely makes any difference.
FM23, then, should look at removing this flaw. Having a transfer market working against you isn’t much fun, although we don’t expect an easy ride when it comes to recruiting new talent.
Just having a fair system would help tremendously. After all, we all like the idea of sneakily unsettling a rival’s player – football transfers are a Machiavellian world of underhand bargaining and deceit that should be represented in the virtual world, too.
Improved mobile play
Playing games via mobile devices is nothing like it was a decade ago.
These days, advanced HTML-5 technology allows us to enjoy casino games with video game graphics via our smartphones, while mobile cloud gaming lets us stream our favourite titles on the go.
In the Football Manager world, things have also been improving steadily over the years to the point that there isn’t a great deal of difference between PC and mobile versions.
Expect to see FM23 with sharper graphics and streamlined play for mobile gamers, as well as enhanced squad-building tools at your fingertips.
While there’s still some way to go before FM is thought of as one of the top mobile PC games, 2023 will see the franchise taking a big step in the right direction.
Better new player onboarding
For FM veterans, adjusting to new versions every year has become routine, and many of us now find ourselves up-to-speed with tweaks and updates before we know it.
New players, however, have a tougher time. Imagine being a complete newbie and trying to work out some of the more complex game features…
This is why FM23 is likely to have an optional onboarding mode that new players can use. Perhaps it will show new features at a slower pace and allow them to toggle game difficulty as they get used to it.
While this won’t be beneficial to seasoned players, it would open the game up to a bigger audience, which is good news for the makers.
More detailed player interactions
Player interactions is a tricky area, simply because of the thousands of permutations that a manager/player discussion could have.
That hasn’t stopped FM users asking for improvements for a long time, however, and in 2023 their wish just may come true. Taking a leaf out of the book of the best RPG games with their dialogue trees would be one significant move.
While we get that this is hugely difficult to implement and would probably never compete with the rest of what makes FM great, it would hugely improve the gameplay aspect.
Imagine seeing Jesse Lingard’s reaction when you place him on the transfer list, or the joy on Son Heung-min's face when you agree on a new contract. The possibilities are endless.
Women’s football
Adding women’s football to FM would be one of the biggest moves in its history, and studio director has already confirmed that it’s on the agenda. Whether it will be in time for the 2023 version, though, is still unknown.
The biggest obstacle is onboarding the huge amount of data to make it possible, with Sports Interactive stressing that they need to do it properly.
When it does arrive, expect to see a whole different meta-game altogether that shows the differences between men and women’s football. We’ll also have completely rebuilt animation sets and, of course, a revamped player library.
As a game famous for its updates, major change is in the cards for FM. Whatever happens, the 2023 version is set to be one of the most exciting ones in years.
