Try Football Manager 27 Before You Buy: Free Play Dates, Turkey Start Time and Save Transfers
Football Manager 27 is free on PC and Mac with every mode from October 29 to November 3 (9:00 p.m. Turkey time). Free-play careers and FM24/FM26 saves carry over; here are the times, stores and system requirements.
At a glance: What you need to know
| Free play period | October 29, 9:00 p.m. – November 3, 9:00 p.m. Turkey time (6:00 p.m. GMT on both dates) |
| Platforms | PC and Mac |
| Stores and subscriptions | Steam, Epic Games Store, Microsoft Store; also Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass |
| What's included | All game modes, with no pre-order or additional sign-up required |
| Save files | Careers started during free play can continue into later versions; FM24 and FM26 saves can also be carried over to FM27 |
| Full release | November 10, 2026 |
| Turkish language | Turkish interface available |
Check the start time if you're in Turkey
According to Sports Interactive, free access begins at 6:00 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) on October 29 and ends at the same time on November 3. There's a small time-zone detail to keep in mind: the UK switches to winter time on October 25, putting it three hours behind Turkey. That means the free play period will start at 9:00 p.m. in Turkey on October 29 and end at 9:00 p.m. on November 3.
Where can you download and play it?
You won't need to pre-order the game or complete any additional registration. Simply choose your usual storefront and download it when the free play period begins: Steam, the Epic Games Store, or the Microsoft Store. If you subscribe to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass, you can also play through your subscription.
This isn't a traditional demo with parts of the game locked away. It's what Sports Interactive calls the Launch Preview, a pre-release build with access to every game mode. The game isn't quite in its final state, though: the developer warns that some club and player assets may be missing while licensing approvals are still being completed. Sports Interactive says it believes making an annual game freely playable with all modes available is an industry first.
That doesn't mean you get to keep the game permanently. Free access ends on November 3. To keep playing after that, you'll need to pre-order the game or have an eligible Game Pass subscription.
What happens to my career?
For Football Manager players, this may be the most important question—and the answer is good news. Save files created during the free play period can be continued in both the paid Launch Preview and the full release if you purchase the game. You won't have to abandon the team you've spent five days building and start over.
You can also import careers from FM24 and FM26. The transfer feature isn't limited to saves created during the free trial. According to Sports Interactive, FM27's start screen will offer an option to bring over careers from Football Manager 2024 and Football Manager 2026. The relevant save file needs to be available on your computer or in your platform account's cloud storage. So if you've been managing the same club for years, you can carry that career into FM27 during the free play period and see how it looks in the new game.
What happens when free play ends?
There are three stages to the launch:
- October 29 – November 3: Free Launch Preview. Open to PC and Mac players.
- November 3 – November 10: Paid Launch Preview. Players who pre-order and eligible Game Pass subscribers can continue playing.
- November 10: Full release.
Pre-orders also open on October 29, with a 10% discount at SEGA-approved digital retailers. The announced prices are £49.99 in the UK, €59.99 in Europe, and $59.99 in the US. Pricing for Turkey has not yet been confirmed and isn't displayed in the store ahead of pre-orders, so it's worth checking the storefront on October 29. To see whether a discount is genuinely worthwhile, take a look at our SteamDB guide.
Can my computer run it?
Football Manager isn't usually regarded as a graphically demanding game, and its listed requirements are relatively modest. According to Steam, the minimum specifications include 6 GB of RAM and a graphics card comparable to a GeForce GTX 960 or Radeon R9 380. The recommended specifications rise to 12 GB of RAM and an RTX 2060 or RX 5600 XT. You'll also need 20 GB of free storage space. On Mac, Apple M1-based computers are supported.
Even so, the free play period is a useful opportunity to see how the game actually performs on your own machine before spending money.
One other detail worth noting: Steam lists Denuvo anti-tamper protection for FM27, with a limit of five different machine activations per day. That probably won't affect most players, but it's useful to know if you regularly switch between several computers.
Why is Sports Interactive doing this now?
The timing is no coincidence. The series has been through a difficult period. Football Manager 25 was cancelled following development problems, while Football Manager 26—which rebuilt the series around the Unity engine—drew criticism from some players.
Offering a free Launch Preview gives players a chance to judge the next installment for themselves before committing to a purchase. In its official FAQ, Sports Interactive explicitly says it wants to rebuild players' trust and confidence in the studio.
For players, it's a welcome opportunity: you can spend five days building your own career and finding out how much the new game has improved over its predecessor. If you like it, you can keep your progress. If you don't, you can walk away without having paid for the game.
