There won’t be an official player update, but there’s still a way to get it (Sega)
The bad news keeps coming for Football Manager fans, as the developer confirms it won’t release a player update, but fans already have a solution.
It’s been a tough month for Football Manager fans, who were expecting this year’s release in a couple of weeks. Instead, they’ve been told that Football Manager 2025 has not only had a fair amount of features axed, but it’s been delayed for a second time, until next March.
A big part of the reason is that Sports Interactive is moving onto the Unity game engine, which studio boss Miles Jacobson called ‘trickier than we originally anticipated’.
Fans have since asked the developer to update the current Football Manager 2024 with the latest player data and transfers, but they’ve once again been left disappointed.
In a statement the studio said they have been exploring the idea of releasing an official 2024/2025 season update, but issues with licensing makes it too difficult.
‘Having now scoped the work that would be required, and despite a good initial response from many of out licensors, we cannot lift assets that we are using in FM25 and make them work in FM24 without recreating them in full.’
The statement adds that rules and database changes can’t be back-ported into Football Manager 24, and assets and data, which can’t be separated, need licensor approval first.
‘This is a substantial undertaking which would take critical resources away from delivering FM25 to the highest possible quality, which we simply cannot compromise on.’
Although the message will disappoint many, there is an easy way to update Football Manager 24 with a database including the latest transfers.
How to download FM24 data update
Appropriately-named fan site SortItOutSI frequently releases data patches which include player transfers and updated leagues with promoted and relegated teams.
While the update comes with the new players each team has bought in the most recent transfer windows, the patches don’t change the stats of the players. So if a young player had a break-out season, like Cole Palmer, he won’t get an upgrade.
You can find the latest patch here, which covers all transfers in 2024, and comes with a guide of how to add it to Football Manager 2024.
It’s a simple process of downloading the file and unzipping it, finding the ‘fmf’ files and moving them to the Editor Data folder.
Once you start a new career, you can then select the patch from the drop-down menu in the top right hand corner.
If you really want to make your own changes to the existing database in Football Manager 2024, or a newly installed patch, you can use the editor that is included in the installation of the base game.
This will let you make any changes you want, like moving players from one club to another, enhancing their attributes, boosting (or tanking) a club’s finances, and amending a player’s potential.
You can get creative too, and with the help of the editor there have been many funny experiments, like when a fan gave 56,000 players ‘manflu’ just to see what would happen.
Or when a fan took Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou’s quote, saying he wanted a full team of Cristian Romeros, to heart, which ended exactly how you’d imagine it would.
It’s going to be a long winter for Football Manager fans (Sega)
Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter.
To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.
For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.
MORE : The most fun teams to manage in Football Manager 2024 and why
MORE : 8 epic Football Manager 2024 tips and exploits to help you win
MORE : 10 best free players in FM24 to start the game
Sign up to all the exclusive gaming content, latest releases before they’re seen on the site.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.