When did the Football Manager 2024 early access start? There’s a familiar feeling among Football Manager fans right now as we all jump into the FM24 beta. This exclusive period of time is when you can get early access to a near-complete build of the game.
As for how you access the Football Manager 2024 beta, the method hasn’t changed for years, and anyone is eligible provided they follow one very simple instruction. We’ll take you through everything you need to access the FM24 beta and Football Manager 2024 release date, so you can sink endless hours into your journeyman save.
Football Manager beta release date
The Football Manager 24 beta was released on October 19, 2023 to those who had secured FM24 early access.
As fans of the franchise know, the beta period can drop at a moment’s notice and isn’t usually advertised. During development livestreams, the team often mentioned the beta without specifying a date. This was the case on October 19, when the FM24 early access period started with no warning.
With the FM24 launch being November 6, we had calculated around two weeks prior to this for the beta release date due to this being the pattern preferred by Sports Interactive for previous installments in the franchise. However, this time around it fell slightly ahead of our predicted two-week period.
Football Manager 2024 beta release time
The FM24 early access period began alongside the daily Steam update which goes live at 6PM BST / 1PM ET / 10AM PT.
How to access the Football Manager 2024 beta
You can access the FM24 beta by pre-purchasing the game either directly through Steam or via a code from an approved third-party retailer.
Access to the beta isn’t distributed via pre-release codes that are then revoked, you must purchase the full game to gain access. If you purchase the game, it effectively unlocked early access when the beta went live. Granted, this version of the game is as stable as it can be, but bugs could be present and affect your save.
When the full release date comes around, a day-one update is deployed and applies fixes to any new save files. This is what leads many within the community to commit to a ‘beta save’ but then start something completely new when the update drops.
Can you access the Football Manager 2024 beta via Xbox Game Pass?
Even though FM24 features as part of Xbox Game Pass this year, you are not be able to access the FM24 beta via Game Pass. In fact, you cannot access the beta on consoles at all, it is only possible on the PC versions of the game.
FM arrived back on consoles to much fanfare, with the Xbox version re-debuting in 2020. Since then, the game has also launched on PS5, albeit with some substantial delays with FM23. Regardless of which console you choose to enjoy your FM24 experience on, you can only access the beta period on the PC edition.
It doesn’t matter whether you pre-purchase the game on Steam or the Epic Games Store, both versions grant access to the FM24 beta.
Now you know how to access the Football Manager 2024 beta. If you’re keen to know if your PC can still run an FM game, check out the Football Manager 2024 system requirements for a full rundown and make sure your gear is up to date prior to the release date.