Football Manager 2017 vs Football Manager 2020
Football Manager 2017 is a simulation sports game from Sports Interactive (2016) while Football Manager 2020 is a simulation sports game from Sports Interactive (2019).
What each one is
Steam files Football Manager 2017 under Simulation and Sports. In contrast, it files Football Manager 2020 under Simulation and Sports.
Take control of your favourite football team in Football Manager 2017, the most realistic and immersive football management game to date. It’s the closest thing to doing the job for real!
Run your football club, your way. Every decision counts in Football Manager 2020 with new features and polished game mechanics rewarding planning and progression like never before, empowering managers to develop and refine both your club’s and your own unique identity.
At a glance
| Football Manager 2017 | Football Manager 2020 | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 6.1/10 | 7.9/10 |
| Steam rating | Mixed (60%, 11,042) | Very Positive (89%, 31,660) |
| Critic aggregate | 80/100 | 84/100 |
| Price | Not listed | Not listed |
| Install size | 3 GB | 7 GB |
| Steam Deck | playable | playable |
| Released | 2016 | 2019 |
| Developer | Sports Interactive | Sports Interactive |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Football Manager 2017 vs Football Manager 2020, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Football Manager 2017Simulation sports gameFootball Manager 2020Simulation sports gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Football Manager 2017Sports, Football (Soccer), SimulationFootball Manager 2020Simulation, Sports, ManagementThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Football Manager 2017Score 6.1 · 60% on Steam · 80 criticFootball Manager 2020 ✓Score 7.9 · 89% on Steam · 84 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Football Manager 201711,042 reviews · 3 GBFootball Manager 202031,660 reviews · 1 add-on · 7 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Football Manager 2017Not listedFootball Manager 2020Not listedRead live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Football Manager 2017PlayableFootball Manager 2020PlayableValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Football Manager 2020 takes 1 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueFootball Manager 2017 and Football Manager 2020 on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Football Manager 2020 (GamingPickz Score 7.9)
- Lighter on storage: Football Manager 2017 (3 GB)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Football Manager 2020 (31,660 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
SportsFootball (Soccer)SimulationManagementFootball (American)StrategyTacticalMultiplayer
Where they differ
CasualAction
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Football Manager 2017 is relaxed, easy to pick up. Football Manager 2020 is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for Football Manager 2017 and 0 for Football Manager 2020. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
If you like one, also try
Common questions
How different are Football Manager 2017 and Football Manager 2020 in scope?
Football Manager 2017 has drawn 11,042 Steam reviews and installs in 3 GB. Football Manager 2020 has drawn 31,660 Steam reviews, ships 1 add-on and installs in 7 GB.
Is Football Manager 2017 or Football Manager 2020 better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Football Manager 2020 rates higher (7.9 to 6.1). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Football Manager 2017 or Football Manager 2020?
One or both do not have a current listed price, so a straight comparison is not possible. See the table above.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.