
SM19 is available to download for free on PC (via Steam or Facebook Gameroom) and on mobile devices (via Google Play or the App Store). After closely following the series’ development over the next couple of years, I was intrigued to see what Soccer Manager 2019 would be like when it came out in late 2018. I played a bit of SM15 and also did some voluntary beta testing for its sequel – Soccer Manager 2016. Having played the Soccer Manager multiplayer game since 2007, I was naturally very interested in the single-player experience. The first product from this new series – Soccer Manager 2015 – was released in November 2014, to a fairly positive response. In the mid-2010s, they started to branch off from their multiplayer game by building a single-player version that could be played in an internet browser. The developers behind the game are Soccer Manager Ltd – a small but dedicated team based in Preston. It has been translated into many languages and has housed around 25 million virtual managers, over a million of which currently log in at least once a month. The game – now known as Soccer Manager Worlds – has become hugely successful, largely because of its free-to-play model and the ability for you to ‘sign’ real-life players for real-life teams. Some of you might be familiar with the Soccer Manager online game, which launched in 2005. I think Rock Paper Shotgun summed it up pretty well when they labelled it “a scrappier and slimmer FM”. Today, I will be looking at a free game that I have been playing on-and-off over the last few weeks. The top Champions League-quality games are awarded 5*, and the hapless Sunday Leaguers only get 1*. I’ll look into the background of each game, explain which features I liked or didn’t like, and then give a star rating out of 5. This is the first installment of a new, occasional series in which I will review a pretender to Sports Interactive’s virtual football throne. Every now and then, I will also cover any other football management computer games – retro or modern – that catch my eye. Contrary to what you might think, Fuller FM is not a blog solely dedicated to the Football Manager series.
