Football Manager fans will ADORE this retro release on Steam with FM26 updates still thin on the ground

A screenshot from Kevin Toms Football Star Manager

A relaunched retro game harks back o a simpler time (Image credit: Kevin Toms Football Star Manager)

It’s been a tough year for Football Manager fans, as we all wait for announcements and updates regarding FM26.

The postponement and then cancellation of FM25 in February has meant that die-hard fans of the management sim franchise have been stuck playing FM24 for almost two years now.

In fact, when the last FM game was released on November 6, 2023, Tottenham were second in the Premier League table and Luton Town were a top flight side. But while the wait for news regarding the next instalment goes on, FM fans do finally have something to look forward to.

New/old Football Manager game coming next month

An image of Football Manager 25 from FM25 creators Sports Interactive — FM25 sadly never saw the light of day (Image credit: Sports Interactive)

That’s because the game that started it all - 1982’s Football Star Manager- is set to be released on Steam.

This console version is a faithful remake of Kevin Toms’ 42-year-old original game that was released on the ZX Spectrum and went on to create the entire football management simulation genre.

It would go on to sell more than 500,000 copies in its first six years, but the game’s greatest legacy is paving the way for the likes of Championship Manager and then Football Manager, which have revolutionised the computer game industry.

The newest versions of these games are light years away from the simplicity of Kevin Toms' Football Star Manager, but this is something that Toms is leaning into.

The trailer for the new/old game - which is released on August 14 - leans into this, harking back to a time when life was simpler and games ‘didn’t feel like a second job’, with the relaunched title proudly having ‘absolutely none of the features you've come to expect from modern gaming, so forget about your graphics card’.

This PC version comes after Toms released an acclaimed mobile version of his game for the App Store and Play Store nine years ago and will be released with FM fans still eagerly awaiting any updates regarding FM26.

Kevin Toms Football Star Manager - Official Announcement Trailer - YouTube

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News regarding this latest FM release, following last year’s cancellation of the game has been thin on the ground, although historically updates have tended to come at the end of the summer - so fans will be hoping for good news in the coming weeks.

But in the meantime, a blast of retro action will help pass the time nicely.

For more than a decade, Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor. Mewis has had stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others and worked at FourFourTwo throughout Euro 2024, reporting on the tournament. In addition to his journalist work, Mewis is also the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team. Now working as a digital marketing coordinator at Harrogate Town, too, Mewis counts some of his best career moments as being in the iconic Spygate press conference under Marcelo Bielsa and seeing his beloved Leeds lift the Championship trophy during lockdown.

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