Longtime 'Football Manager' fans brought specific, concrete topics to the developers. Their questions stemmed directly from experiences in their own saves—ranging from transfer market differences when managing in the K League, to shots repeatedly hitting the woodwork, and overlapping attacker runs when trying to utilize the half-spaces. One attendee bluntly asked how the development team rates their previous title, 'Football Manager 26'.
At the 'Football Manager 27' (FM27) Korean fan meeting held on November 1 at GGX in Dongdaemun, Seoul, Sports Interactive (SI) representatives hosted a session to speak directly with fans. Associate Game Director Rémy Boicherot and Senior PR & Product Executive Andrew Sinclair attended the event to answer questions about the direction of the new game and address questions players experienced while playing.
After the host read pre-submitted questions left on sticky notes by fans, the session transitioned to live questions from the audience using a microphone. While some asked about the future of the series—such as generative AI and dynamic potential—there were also clear demands to immediately implement their desired tactical styles in their teams. Below is a recap of the live Q&A between fans and SI.
Are there plans to introduce generative AI into interactions like player-manager conversations or press conferences?
" Manager Andrew: Currently, there is a text input field in press conferences where players can freely type their comments. However, introducing generative AI requires considering that FM is supported in over 20 languages. Responding appropriately to player input within the context of each language would require extensive additional data and testing. We don't think it's impossible, but even if implemented, it's something to look at over the long term.
Every entry in the series features so-called 'overpowered tactics' that deliver high performance regardless. Is there a way to solve unrealistic play or tactical homogenization?
" Director Rémy: The dev team is also continuously monitoring community discussions to see which tactics are being used and what trends emerge. If a tactic is excessively strong or doesn't align with real-world football, we will adjust it, but the phenomenon of many players gravitating toward a single tactic isn't the dev team's intention. Nor do we artificially block players from using specific tactics.
We introduced in-possession and out-of-possession tactical systems in the previous title. We don't think the community has uncovered all of their possibilities yet. We are excited to see how they will be utilized moving forward.
When continuing a save into the year 2070, the team becomes filled with generated players. The faces of generated players feel artificial and creepy. Are there plans to improve them further?
" Director Rémy: Generated player faces are an area we continue to focus on. We are currently developing our second title after transitioning to the Unity engine, which offers great potential for graphical improvements. We have made improvements in this title as well, and we believe it will continue to get better in the future.
In modern football, a Sporting Director sometimes holds greater authority than the manager. Are there plans to expand the role of the Sporting Director or allow players to directly play in that position?
" Director Rémy: In this title, we have enhanced the Sporting Director's presence and advisory role during contract and transfer negotiations. The dev team is also aware that there is much more potential for the Sporting Director role in the future.
What was the main focus when developing 'FM27'?
" Director Rémy: There are two main pillars: interface improvements and enhancing immersion. For the interface, we focused on making it predictable, familiar, and efficient to use. We also worked across multiple areas to make players feel as though they are truly part of the real-world football landscape.
After the answers to the pre-submitted questions concluded, fans in the audience took over with direct questions.
I'm a Suwon Samsung fan attending while on military leave. When playing in the K League, it feels like there are far more paid transfer fee deals compared to real life. Are there plans to reflect league-specific transfer cultures, such as free transfers, transfers after contract terminations, or player swaps?
" Director Rémy: The dev team's goal is to reflect real-world football as closely as possible. We also work hard to properly reflect the distinct cultures and regulations of different leagues. Sharing specific examples on our official forums, as you just mentioned, is immensely helpful for us in identifying what areas to examine and implement.
I've been playing FM for about 10 years, and I feel like shots hit the woodwork far too often. It was especially bad in 'FM26', and while it's reduced in 'FM27', it's still frequent. Is this an intended outcome to create more dramatic match visuals?
" Director Rémy & Manager Andrew: That is an area we are closely monitoring. It is a result of interactions between player attributes and the physics engine. However, watching many matches in a short period through highlights means you frequently encounter instances of hitting the woodwork, which can make the perceived frequency feel higher.
When compared to real-world football data, the statistical proportions align quite closely. Nevertheless, if players feel that way, we will continue to keep a close eye on it and make adjustments.
In the previous title, tactics were split into in-possession and out-of-possession, but it seems no new player roles were added in 'FM27'. What is the reason for not adding new roles this time?
" Manager Andrew: During the overhaul of in-possession and out-of-possession tactics in 'FM26', we redesigned most player roles. The match engine team watches thousands of hours of real matches every year to analyze tactical trends in football. When adding, removing, or changing roles, we check whether a distinct new role has clearly emerged in real-world football.
For this release, we concluded that the redesigned existing roles are sufficient to express tactical ideas, and there weren't distinct enough changes in real football to warrant adding new roles. We will continue to monitor real football and reflect new roles when necessary.
I've played for a long time—around 30,000 hours. 'Dynamic Potential' mods, where potential ability itself changes based on a player's performance or playing time, are gaining popularity. Do you have any plans to introduce this as an official feature?
" Manager Andrew: Thank you for dedicating so much time to our game. For some young players, potential ability is set within a specific range, and a value within that range is determined whenever a new save begins. However, what you're asking about is likely whether the ceiling of growth itself should rise when a player transfers from the K League to the Premier League and experiences a higher level of training and competition.
This is a topic that has been heavily discussed within the development team, and we are well aware of it. It's difficult to say it will be introduced in the near future, but it is one of the matters we are seriously considering for future entries in the series.
Thank you for giving us the chance to speak with the developers of a game I love. I'd like to ask directly: How does the development team internally evaluate 'FM26'?
" Director Rémy: There were many technical challenges during the process of transitioning to the new Unity engine. We had to rebuild the game to fit new tools and port vast databases along with the varying rules of numerous countries and leagues.
Having gone through that process, we are now able to focus on raising the game's overall polish and player experience in 'FM27'. We believe the development foundation has been solidly established. We trust this will serve as the groundwork to advance FM over the next 5, 10, and 15 years.
While working on this title, we paid close attention to community feedback and playtest results. The development team also participated in testing with Korean players. Korean players tend to pursue specific, highly focused, and efficient play. Thanks to that, we identified unexpected issues and areas for improvement, and their passionate feedback was a massive help in polishing 'FM27'.
When playing in the K League, I sometimes feel real life or player attributes aren't reflected sufficiently, so I edit the custom roster myself. How is K League data currently collected, and are there plans to reinforce researchers or intensify research efforts?
" Manager Andrew: We have a global research network of roughly 1,600 people worldwide, including dedicated researchers in Korea. There is a head researcher overseeing K League 1, K League 2, and lower leagues, along with assistant researchers in charge of specific regions or clubs.
If you feel that data, rules, or player attributes are inaccurate, please share specific evidence on our forums. That is a huge help for the research team to modify and improve the data. If you have a passion for football and can evaluate data objectively, we welcome you to participate in research as well.
I understand the explanation regarding the difficulty of applying AI to interactions. If technical constraints are resolved, which area would you, as a developer, want to apply AI to first?
" Manager Andrew: There are areas where we already utilize AI. However, we adhere to the principle of using it in an ethical manner—improving workflow without taking away jobs from others. For example, in localization and translation, we use it for initial drafts to speed up the process, but native speakers always perform the final review.
As for how it will be applied in-game in the future, technology is changing so rapidly that it's difficult to make definitive statements right now. The possibilities are vast, but it's too early to speak specifically.
" Director Rémy: If I were to pick one area where I personally see potential, it would be advice provided by backroom staff to the manager. If AI is used to enhance the quality and variety of advice—organizing and analyzing data to report back to the manager—it could make players feel even more like a real club's general manager.
Of course, there are various constraints and factors to consider. But if I had to pick one, I think it could be used to provide richer, more detailed advice.
I've played for about 20 years and aspire to be a tactical football coach. Up until 'FM24', I could implement my desired tactics, but in 'FM26', player movements differed from my intent. When deploying two strikers, a central attacking midfielder, and inside forwards on both flanks, their movement routes overlap and cut inside too tightly, making it difficult to utilize the half-spaces. Are you willing to improve the game so detailed tactics can be implemented more freely?
" Director Rémy: Our goal is to provide players with as many tactical tools as possible so they can play the football they envision. If a tactic you've designed isn't working properly in-game, we will re-examine the feedback closely.
If you send specific tactical setups and examples through SEGA Publishing Korea or the Korean community team, the match engine team will look into them directly and review whether they can be applied or improved in the game.
It's difficult to convey specialized tactical terms or nuances in English. Is it okay to submit feedback in Korean?
" On-site Interpreter & Director Rémy: Yes, writing in Korean is perfectly fine. The content is translated and delivered to the development team, so please feel comfortable leaving feedback in Korean.
Depending on player roles, certain specific instructions are locked and cannot be changed by the player. Are these restrictions intended to raise the difficulty, or to make tactical implementation simpler and more intuitive?
" Manager Andrew: We want to give as many choices as possible, and we believe current team instructions and player instructions cover a broad spectrum of football. However, if there are specific instructions missing from a role, or specific elements that should be added or unlocked, please let us know. We will continuously examine and review them internally.
Director Rémy: We want to create a game that is as close to real-world football as possible. If a play or tactical movement is possible in real football, we believe it should also be realizable within FM.
What the design team agonizes over most is not whether to include a feature, but how to implement it naturally and intuitively. The challenge is giving players freedom without undermining the definition of a specific role. If you send feedback regarding the direction you'd like to see, we will give thoughtful consideration to how it can be effectively implemented.
