New Football Manager 27 will be free to play weeks before launch in a shock move from team behind the game

In an unprecedented move, Football Manager 27 will be free to play on PC, Mac, and console from 6pm on 29 October until 3 November. Anybody can download and play the game and they will be able to continue their saves when the game officially goes on sale on 10 November.

The game will eventually cost £49.99 but early launch offers have brought the price down to £29.79 on Loaded.

It has been a tough few years for the best-selling football manager game of all time. After decades of success Sports Interactive decided to overhaul the game completely by moving it to a new platform.

The move promised better graphics, more features, and a brand new era for the game but the studio soon ran into problems. For the first time ever it was forced to miss a year, cancelling the launch of Football Manager 25 because the game was not ready in time.

Football Manager 27 will be free to play during a trial before launch (Sega)

After cancelling pre orders, Sports Interactive said: “Whilst many areas of the game have hit our targets, the overarching player experience and interface is not where we need it to be. “

While Football Manager 26 was released on time last year it has been widely criticised, with fans demanding refunds and low critic scores for the new game design. Fans criticised the poor user experience and loss of features such as international management and touchline shouts, and even the historic addition of women’s football for the first time failed to stem the tide of negative reviews.

When will Football Manager 27 be released?

The official launch of Football Manager 27 will take place on 10 November.

With trust in the game at an all time low the studio has made the bold move to offer fans the chance to download the game and play it free for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers only, for five days from October 29 until November 3 and it promises the version will be ‘close’ the full release on 10 November.

It is unusual for a games studio to offer such a long free trial before the launch of a game but Sports Interactive is hoping the offer will bring fans back to the franchise after a rocky few years.

Where can I buy Football Manager 27 to play for free?

Multiple retailers have Football Manager 27 available for pre-order for your XBox or PC, you can find them below:

• Steam/Microsoft: Fanatical
• Xbox: Loaded
• PS5: Playstation