Football Manager 2017: Reviews and release date

Fans of football games have already been treated to two of 2016's biggest titles, Fifa 17 and Pro Evolution Soccer 2017, while those more interested in management still face a little wait.

The next instalment in the stats-packed Football Manager series is just around the corner - but the most eager fans could be playing right now as the closed beta for pre-order holders has gone online.

Here's everything you need to know about this year's Football Manager, from new features to how Brexit will play a part.

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When is it coming out and how much will it cost?

Football Manager fans will be relieved to know the game is releasing later this week - 4 November, to be exact.

The game can be pre-ordered on Steam for £34.99 and from Amazon for £33.24, but you'll find physical copies cheaper in stores.

What are the new features and is there any gameplay?

A new video on YouTube goes in-depth with all of the new features and showcases how the game looks.

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Highlights include the new camera angle, sitting low behind the goal for close-up action when the ball is in the box. It'll be the best way to keep an eye on how your team defends set pieces and also where you'll see the 1,500 new motion capture animations in the most detail.

There's also a grander sense of occasion. Players now emerge from the tunnel before the match, warm up and shake hands. Adding to the realism, the game has been updated to reflect the latest rules – kick-off can be taken by a solitary player and a foul by the last man is no longer an instant red card. Even the referees have been updated and they'll now use disappearing spray at free-kicks.

The managerial avatar system is much better too, if you're keen to recreate yourself in digital track-suited format.

If you're more interested in mechanical tweaks over visual ones, the big news is the AI enhancements. Your virtual players are now more aware and intelligent and make almost twice as many decisions per second than they did on Football Manager 2016.

The new social feed tab is an excellent way to keep abreast of what fans and media alike are thinking, and interactions with players and staff is more authentic than ever. Lastly, post-match analysis is deeper, with access to player heat-maps.

How does Brexit come into it?

FM 2017 won't only be a game for bedroom football managers and those dreaming of taking their local non-league side to Champions League glory. If you've an interest in the UK's impending separation from the European Union, the game has that covered too.

With June's vote meaning that earning the right to play in Britain could be about to change, Brexit features in the game with numerous scenarios.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the developers thought the UK's vote was simply too big to be left out of this year's title and everything is accounted for - from a soft Brexit, where players won't need work permits, to hard, where the country completely leaves the single market and ditches freedom of movement, making landing foreign players harder.

Even the possibility of Scotland leaving the union is included.

'Hundreds of changes'

Football Manager 2017 is due out on 4 November – and according to Sports Interactive, there are hundreds of new features.

But Goal.com reports there are more than 1,000 of them, along with 1,500 new animations.

Speaking to the British Science Festival in Swansea last week, Dr Tom Markham of Sports Interactive explained just how big the game now is, 24 years after it first appeared on the market as Championship Manager.

"The game now has a database with 319,726 current players. With former players, who may take other roles in football, it comes in at over 600,000," he said, reports the BBC.

"We have people on the ground in 51 different countries covering 140 leagues. There are 2,250 fully researched clubs, with 250 statistics on each player - aggregated to 47 in the user interface.

"With 1,300 scouts, all the main clubs have one researcher and top clubs like Chelsea have multiple experts."

What can I play it on?

Football Manager 2017 will release across three different operating systems – Windows, Mac OS, and Linux.

Is there a version for mobile devices?

Alongside the core 2017 release for computers, a version for smartphones and tablets – Football Manager Mobile 2017 – will be released separately, just as it has done for the last few years.

Set to be available on Android and iOS devices, mobile managers will be waiting a little longer for kick-off compared to those planning on buying the full game on PC or Mac. Football Manager Mobile 2017 is released on 17 November.

Once again, Sports Interactive is keeping things under wraps, with only the promise of a few new playable nations for now. However, more new features are in the pipeline and these will be revealed soon.

Is it worth buying?

Football Manager undergoes subtle tweaks every year, but each small change adds up to a big difference. As such, ARS Technica says this year's game is the deepest one yet and the new simulations of wider society and politics make it a must-buy if you're a fan of the series.

At first glance, the game is "business as usual", adds the site, but dig deeper and you'll find all the clever twists Sports Interactive has added. The simulated in-game Brexit and its many potential outcomes are hard to miss, but it's more than just a flash in the pan – the UK leaving the EU has long-term implications for your game, impacting club finances as well as league and player quality. Even if you don't play as a British team, you'll feel the effects of it one way or another.

"More than ever before you feel like a manager in charge of real people, with real motivations that are linked to a real world that exists beyond the stadium and the training ground", says ARS Technica. "If you are a fan of the beautiful game then there's no better recreation of it and its impact than this."

The Daily Mail is pretty complementary too, calling FM2017 a "vintage game that will enthuse regulars and bring in a new generation of fanatics".