Football Manager 27 has a release date of Tuesday 10 November 2026. On PC it arrives through Steam, Epic Games and the Xbox PC app, the Steam version also runs on Mac, and the same day brings FM27 Console on Xbox and PS5, FM27 Mobile on Netflix and FM27 Touch on Apple Arcade.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass members get the PC version from day one. FM26 had a rocky start, with opinion split sharply over its new interface and performance, so plenty of managers want an answer to one question before the first press conference: will FM27 run well on my machine?
Below are the Windows and Mac minimum and recommended specs exactly as the Steam store page lists them, set side by side with FM26 so you can see what changed, followed by the unlock time and what happens to your Launch Preview career.
The Steam store page shows FM27 unlocking at 4pm GMT (5pm CET, 11am ET, 8am PT) on 10 November; exact times for other stores and platforms had not been officially announced as of 10 November. Specs can be revised after launch, so everything here is as of 10 November 2026.
FM27 Windows minimum and recommended specs (Steam, as of 10 November 2026)
| Component | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows 10 or 11, 64 bit, with all updates | Windows 11, 64 bit, with all updates |
| CPU (desktop) | Intel Core i3-530 or AMD FX-4100; SSE4.2 and SSSE3 support required | Intel Core i5-9600 or AMD Ryzen 5 2600 |
| CPU (laptop) | Intel Core i3-330M or AMD A6-5200 | Intel Core i5-1035G7 or AMD Ryzen 7 3750H |
| Memory | 6GB RAM (FM26: 4GB) | 12GB RAM (same as FM26) |
| Graphics (desktop) | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960, AMD Radeon R9 380 or Intel HD 530 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 or AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT |
| Graphics (laptop) | GeForce GTX 960M, Radeon R9 M375 or Intel HD 530 | GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile or Radeon RX 6600M |
| VRAM and DirectX | 1GiB VRAM (FM26: 512MiB), Shader Model 5.0, DirectX 11 | 2GiB VRAM, DirectX 11 |
| Storage | 20GB available space | 20GB available space |
What changed from FM26, and where your PC lands
Put the two Steam listings side by side and the CPU and graphics card models are identical at both tiers. The changes are all at the bottom end: minimum RAM rises from 4GB to 6GB, minimum VRAM doubles from 512MiB to 1GiB, and Shader Model 5.0 is now spelled out as a minimum requirement.
Recommended RAM stays at 12GB, the recommended tier now lists 2GiB of VRAM, and storage is 20GB for both games. In practice, if FM26 ran comfortably on your PC, FM27 sits in the same bracket, while a machine that only scraped by with 4GB of RAM or a 512MB card now falls below the minimum.
A simple way to place yourself is three bands. Under 6GB of RAM or graphics below GTX 960 class means under spec. Between the minimum and recommended tiers means the game runs, but expect to trim 3D match quality.
12GB of RAM with an RTX 2060 or RX 5600 XT class card or better puts you in the recommended tier. On Mac, the minimum is macOS 13, 14, 15 or 26 with an Apple M1 or Intel Core M chip and 6GB of RAM, while the recommended spec is macOS 14 or later on an M1 with 12GB, again with 20GB free.
The series moved to the Unity engine with FM26 and the FM27 site still carries the Unity badge. Sports Interactive has said FM27 evolves the current design while restoring ideas and behaviours that players value.
How to check whether your PC can run FM27
- 1Note your CPU, RAM and graphics cardOpen Settings, then System and About, or the Performance tab in Task Manager, and write down your CPU model, installed RAM and graphics card name. Then match them line by line against the table above. How to check your PC specs on Windows 11 shows where each one lives.
- 2Check your DirectX version and VRAMFM27 needs DirectX 11 and 1GiB of VRAM at minimum, with 2GiB recommended. Type dxdiag into the Run box: the System tab shows your DirectX version and the Display tab shows your graphics memory. The full walkthrough is in how to check your DirectX version.
- 3Point a gaming laptop at its dedicated GPUThe laptop minimum even includes integrated Intel HD 530 graphics, but if your laptop has a dedicated card, make sure FM27 actually uses it or you leave recommended tier performance on the table. How to choose which GPU a game uses walks through the Windows 11 graphics setting.
- 4Update Windows and free up 20GBThe minimum OS line reads Windows 10 or 11 with all updates, so finish Windows Update before installing and clear at least 20GB on the target drive. Long careers grow your save files season after season, so a little extra headroom helps.
- 5If matches stutter, lower 3D match quality firstIf you sit between minimum and recommended, watch your first match closely. When the 3D match view stutters, drop the match graphics quality one step at a time, and if it still feels heavy, switch to the 2D match view, which has been upgraded for FM27. Compare each change on the same passage of play so you can tell what actually helped.
- 6Carry your Launch Preview career forwardAccording to the official announcement, careers started in the free Launch Preview, which ran from 29 October to 3 November, continue into the paid Launch Preview and the full release without starting over. Launch the full game on the account you used for the preview and load your career. The Launch Preview replaces what used to be called Beta or Advanced Access.
What to check on launch day
- Steam unlock time: the Steam store page shows FM27 unlocking at 4pm GMT on Tuesday 10 November (16:00 UTC, 5pm CET, 11am ET, 8am PT), as of 10 November.
- Other stores and platforms: exact times for Epic Games, the Xbox PC app, consoles and mobile had not been officially announced as of 10 November, so check each store page.
- Game Pass: Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass include the PC version from launch day, and Game Pass console subscribers get FM27 Console.
- Steam price: as of 10 November 2026 the US list price is US$59.99, currently 10% off at US$53.99, and the Steam store lists a single edition only. Check the store page for when the discount ends.
- Controllers: the Steam page lists full controller support, including DualShock and DualSense pads.
- Other devices: FM27 Touch launches on Apple Arcade for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV, and FM27 Mobile launches on Netflix the same day.
Planning to record your FM27 match highlights?
Recording the 3D match view means the game and your recorder share the same CPU and GPU.
On a machine near the minimum spec that leaves little headroom, so if you want to keep last minute winners and comeback wins as video, a PC in the recommended tier, or one with GPU power to spare, is the more comfortable choice. Recommended PC specs for game recording lays out the numbers.
If you play the Steam version, you can choose between Steam's built-in recording and a dedicated app, and how to record Steam games compares the two. DOR is a free Windows game recording app.
It detects supported games when you launch them and records the whole match, or the full session from launch to exit, and anything that is not a game can be captured with screen recording. Recordings collect in My Clips, where you trim a moment and save it in 16:9, 9:16 or 1:1.
In DOR Studio (dor.gg/studio) you can merge several clips, add text and background music, then export an mp4 or share a dor.gg link.
The free plan records at 720p or 1080p and 30 or 60 FPS, with 1080p at 30 FPS as the default, and on supported NVIDIA cards such as the RTX series DOR records with NVENC hardware encoding.
