In April, Sports Interactive had not shown anything of the new game yet. Even so, William Reid, the man behind the Out of Context Football Manager account on X, asked the question many people had in mind: what does FM27 need to do to win the community back? His answer appeared on Ingenuity Fantasy. It drew on reactions on X and a big Reddit thread, and it sums up the mood after FM26 well.
Since then, there have been seven deep dives, two Q&A threads on Reddit and a two-hour livestream. So we took the April wishlist and checked what SI has already confirmed. We also separated what is only half done and what is still unanswered, always based on what we have published here on FMPortugal.
What the community wanted from FM27
The main complaint, by far, was the interface. As the article put it, in FM the interface is the experience. In other words, a game built on browsing and comparing cannot have too many clicks, too many pop-ups and wasted space. The most wanted FM27 in the reactions was almost always the same: FM24 with the best ideas from FM26.
But the list did not stop there. The community wanted a livelier game world, saves with memory and international management back. It also asked for more openness for mods and skins. Finally, it wanted old problems fixed, such as reputation, transfers, player interactions and newgens. From FM26, almost the only thing worth keeping was the in-possession and out-of-possession tactical split.
The checklist: request by request
| Request | Status | What we know |
|---|---|---|
| Faster interface | Mostly | Top menus and fewer pop-ups. The sidebar is not coming back. |
| Livelier game world | Yes | New news content, cup draws and deadline day. |
| Save history | Partly | Full-screen records. The end-of-season summary is not returning. |
| International management | Yes | Confirmed during the livestream, with training camps. |
| In and out of possession tactics | Yes | Kept, with Tactical Tweaks and Tactical Effectiveness. |
| Matchday | Yes | New crowds, stadiums and lighting. Defending raises doubts. |
| Mods and skins | Partly | Same as FM26. Reload Skin is back. |
| Transfers | Partly | Transfer AI tweaked. AI squad building is still criticised. |
| Newgens | Partly | New faces. Attributes will come later. |
| Reputation | No answer | Dynamic reputation went unanswered. |
| Player interactions and press | In | They looked the same in the livestream. |
Interface: much better, but it is not FM24
It was the first thing SI showed, and not by chance. In the September AMA, the team admitted the interface was a common point of feedback, so it had to be a priority. Navigation moves to top menus and many pop-ups become full screens. There are also scaling modes, custom keyboard shortcuts and tiles you can swap.
The attribute polygon, transfer add-ons and the multi-league view, now called the Competitions Hub, are back too. We covered it all in the new FM27 interface and in our AMA summary.
However, the FM15 to FM24 sidebar is not returning. During the 22 October livestream there were also complaints about dead space and lists with few columns. The line we read most was «FM27 is what FM26 should have been». But it is not FM24 yet.
A livelier game world
This is probably the best-answered request. The second deep dive was all about a deeper, more immersive football world. It brings news for every stage of the season, rebuilt Club, Competition and Nation screens, and heat maps. Above all, cup draws and deadline day are back. SI also confirmed these features work in all leagues.
On save memory, the answer is mixed. Club history gains full-screen records, as we read in SI’s answers on Reddit. On the other hand, the end-of-season summary is not returning, and neither is player data export.
National teams, tactics and matchday
For the author, the lack of international management was a glaring gap in a World Cup year. Fortunately, the SI team confirmed in the livestream chat that it is back. There are also training plans for international camps, which we explained in training and Tactical Effectiveness.
On tactics, SI did what the community suggested: it kept the in and out of possession split and built on top of it. Tactical Tweaks let you adjust the team without leaving the match. Tactical Effectiveness measures whether your players understand what you ask of them.
Meanwhile, matchday gets new crowds, stadiums, lighting and cutscenes, and the 2D engine is readable again. Still, the livestream had so many goals that plenty of viewers doubted the defending.
Mods, skins and the In-Game Editor
The author wanted more openness for skin and mod makers. The official answer was that there are no significant changes. There is no official support, because of licensing, but there are no blocks either. So anyone using kits, logos, facepacks and skins should be able to do the same as today. The Reload Skin button is back, and the In-Game Editor now takes up the full screen.
What is still unresolved
This was the most impatient part of the April article, and it is the one with the fewest answers. Dynamic reputation went unanswered. Press conferences and player interactions looked the same in the livestream. Newgens have new faces, but the attribute overhaul is planned for next year. Staff attributes are still shown as text.
The transfer market did get some changes. Young players value minutes more, sell-on clauses matter and Squad Cost Ratio rules arrive. Even so, the way the AI builds squads was one of the most criticised topics in the latest Q&A thread.
Our take
The April article ended with a simple idea. FM27 had to feel like it was made by people who understand why players fell in love with the game. Looking at the list, SI has answered well on what you see: the interface, the game world, international management and cup draws. It has answered less on what you feel ten seasons in, such as reputation, interactions and newgens.
Still, there is one difference from last year: you do not have to trust promises. The free Launch Preview opens on 29 October at 18:00 Portuguese time, and the game launches on 10 November. Play it, compare it with this list and tell us what you think on the forum. The full picture is in our FM27 news roundup.
Sources
- What FM27 Needs to do to get Everyone Back Onside (William Reid, Ingenuity Fantasy, 12/04/2026)
- Official FM27 deep dives (footballmanager.com)
- AMA and Q&A threads from SI’s community team (r/footballmanagergames)
