Football Manager 2018 | Beta ahead of release date, here's how to get in

There's exactly one month to wait before Football Manager 2018 comes out, but if you can't wait that long, there's a little trick for you: the game is having a beta period, where you can play the game early, before its 10 November release date. 

If you pre-order the game through the Football Manager website, you'll get access to the Public Beta, which is going live "around two weeks before the game launches." The exact time and date is unconfirmed as of yet, but that means it should be around October 27, roughly. 

It's not limited to those who have pre-ordered through the official website, any Sega approved store works. If you've pre-ordered through any retailer there (which does include Steam and Amazon, two likely other stores you might be looking at) then you'll get access to the public beta whenever it goes up.

It's not very limited, either: the public beta is "essentially the full game," just still a beta and in the development process. That means you can expect typical beta support and issues, as tweaks and improvements will be made, and you may experience some bugs. Feature-wise, expect pretty much the full game, just two weeks early.

This has come alongside a new episode of Inside FM2018, a series that's showing off the new features of Football Manager 2018. Last episode went into dynamics, while this is now going into the changes to scouting for this new release. We've got the full lowdown on those, plus everything else we know about Football Manager 2018, compiled into one guide.

The system as been overhauled from previous versions, and the latest episode, presented by Joe Thomlinson from YouTube channel Football daily, shows exactly how. In essence, the new systems are aiming to be as close to real-life scouting as possible. Aspects like improving the way teams scout out of their league, looking for players that are both promising and viable transfer targets, for example, are revamped, as are the data analysts that were introduced to the series last year.

Football Manager 2018 where to buy

The full video goes in-depth into those changes and you can see them for yourself in Football Manager 2018 when it releases, or in the public beta if you pre-order.