Football Manager 2022: 10 New Features To Be Excited About

Ahead of FM22 consuming your life, here's all you need to know about the game's new features.

by Andrew Pollard
Football Manger 2022
SEGA

With the latest football season now well underway in most countries across the globe, that means we're nearly at the time of year that some football fans look forward to just as much as seeing their team of choice back in action.

Yes, it's nearly time for the next annual release of Sports Interactive's iconic Football Manager series.

As it stands, Football Manager 2022 is set to be released on 9 November, with some eager managers-in-waiting having that date already marked in their diary and likely already with a week or two booked off work. After all, there's no dipping your toe into the water with the FM franchise; once you start that first new save, you're soon eating and drinking FM 24/7 as the real world fades into the background.

Like is so often the case, a new Football Manager brings the promise of new FM features, and FM22 has some belting new elements already announced ahead of its impending release.

With that said, based on comments already made by the SI team on Twitter and their official website, here's everything you need to know about what new delights Football Manager 2022 is set to deliver.

10. Enhanced Graphics And Movement

Football Manger 2022
SEGA

While the intricacies of the FM game engine and the features themselves are always impressive to see, Sports Interactive are always forever tweaking the graphics of Football Manager for each new release - and FM22 will be no different.

As revealed directly by SI, a new animation engine will be at play in FM22. For gamers, that means an even greater level of on-pitch authenticity to their mission to achieve supremacy domestically and on the global stage.

In this next Football Manager release, we'll have more natural and realistic player movements thanks to the implementation of root motion. Likewise, dribbling and standard touches of the ball have been revamped to increase the range of movement from your in-game players. As part of this, you'll even see some of your more skillful players pulling out the odd Cruyff turn or Zidane-esque pivot, whilst a high-pressing style of play will show your players making sprint bursts.

All in all, the new graphics and movements on display are designed to make FM22 more lifelike in how its matches play and how players react.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.