Sports Interactive and Sega have officially announced this year’s installment in the highly popular Football Manager franchise which according to their say “will mark a seismic shift in the best-selling series”.

Football Manager 2013 will bring tons of improvements and enhancements over its predecessors (Improved 3D match engine, new staff roles, improved media interaction, Worldwide leaderboards, a new Challenge mode, to name a few), however the most noteworthy, and much-needed shift in our opinion, is the introduction of the all-new Classic mode, or ‘FMC’ as Sports Interactive likes to call it. FMC offers, for the first time in Football Manager’s history, an alternative, less time-consuming way for players to approach the game. The new mode simplifies the way players manage their club and allows them to focus only on taking their team to the top.

http://youtu.be/PRQiCNdSGSg&rel=0&w=600&h=361

The introduction of FMC is a major step forward in Football Manager’s evolution,” says Sports Interactive’s Studio Director Miles Jacobson. “In recent years it’s become clear that there’s a large group of people who would like to play Football Manager, but simply can’t devote the time required to get the most out of the game – in fact, now that they have families and other commitments, even some members of the SI team have found themselves in this position. We decided, therefore, to try to find a way to accommodate players with limited free time, without significantly diluting the experience. We believe that FMC achieves this beautifully.

I would, however, like to stress to our many, many fans around the world that the introduction of FMC will not impact in any way on the game that they’ve come to know and love. For those who still want the full, ‘hands-on’ experience, FM13 offers exactly what they’re looking for – a bigger, better and even more immersive version of the world’s greatest football management simulation.”

Football Manager 2013 is expected to arrive on Windows PC and Mac sometime before Christmas 2012.