Football Manager fans give final verdict on FM24 mods – can they replace FM25?

The Football Manager mods by FM Tweak are, on paper, a brilliant idea. With Football Manager 2025 cancelled, keeping FM24 fresh with tweaks to the match engine is exactly the kind of innovation we needed. But here’s the real question: are these mods actually any good?

It’s one thing to have a great concept—executing it properly is another challenge entirely. You don’t want the Football Manager match engine to be warped beyond recognition, turning every game into an arcade-style free-for-all where tactics go out the window. But at the same time, if the changes are so minor that they’re barely noticeable, what’s the point? You might as well just stick with the original game and save yourself the hassle.

So, what’s the final verdict on these mods? Are they a must-download, breathing new life into FM24, or just a bunch of noise with no real impact? Let’s dive in and find out.

The FM Tweak Mods: A Closer Look

FM Tweak offers a variety of mods, each catering to different playstyles and preferences:

1. FM Tweak: This flagship mod aims to enhance realism, balance, and tactical depth in the match engine. It’s designed for managers seeking a more authentic football experience. fmtweak.com
2. FM Tweak Lower Leagues: Tailored for those who relish the gritty battles of lower-league football, this mod slows down gameplay, emphasizing resilience and defensive organization.
3. FM Tweak Arcade: For managers craving high-octane, end-to-end matches, this mod accelerates gameplay, offering a fast-paced and unpredictable experience
4. FM Tweak Insanity: This one’s for the thrill-seekers. Pushing every parameter to the extreme, it creates a wild and unhinged Football Manager experience

These mods draw inspiration from earlier projects like Sakura’s Chinese mod and the Korean mod, building upon their foundations to offer refined and diverse gameplay experiences.

Community verdict

The Football Manager community has embraced these mods with open arms. One player shared their transformative experience:

“The difference is a lot of little things that are hard to go back on. It feels a lot more realistic. It no longer feels that you can leave a game on in the background assured that your tactic will get you through. I have it on now full time.”

Another seasoned manager noted:

“The more you have played of FM, the more you notice how much they improve the game. If you were brand new to the game, you definitely wouldn’t realize quite all the differences as you won’t have realized how almost binary default FM24 matches are… The upgrade in central play is wild, so many through balls when in base FM it’s just down the wings no matter what.”

These testimonials highlight the mods’ ability to inject fresh dynamics into the game, making each match feel unique and engaging.

Expert endorsement

If you don’t trust the opinions of random Football Manager players on the internet, fair enough. But how about the word of Zealand—one of the most well-respected voices in the FM community and a man who has, at this point, probably logged more hours in the game than he has in actual sleep?

In one of his latest videos, Zealand gave the FM Tweak mods a spin, and his review was overwhelmingly positive. While testing the new match engine, he immediately noticed a greater variety of passing, which in turn made a wider range of tactical approaches viable—especially lower-block tactics. That alone is a game-changer. More tactical diversity means a more engaging experience, giving FM24 some much-needed staying power until Football Manager 2026 arrives.

And if you jump to 11:20 in his video, you’ll see something Zealand himself had never witnessed before in Football Manager. Now, anyone who has played FM for long enough knows the pain of repetition. It’s why 90% of us instinctively mash the “Skip” button on press conferences—because we’ve seen the same dull questions a thousand times before. But if these mods introduce fresh mechanics and moments that genuinely surprise veteran players, then they’re doing something right.

Zealand ultimately concludes that this modded match engine feels better than the original. That’s a massive statement from someone who probably understands the FM match engine better than most of the developers themselves. If that’s not a glowing endorsement, I don’t know what is.

Final thoughts

From the sheer number of glowing reviews across the internet, it’s clear that the FM Tweak match engine mods have been a massive success. And honestly? I’d love to see mods like this become a permanent fixture in the Football Manager universe—complementing and improving an already brilliant base game.

Other games have been transformed by modding communities, breathing new life into them long after release. And even when Football Manager gets back on track with FM26, I hope this kind of creativity doesn’t fade away. Even if you’re completely happy with the vanilla game, sometimes you just want to switch things up, experiment, or add a little chaos.

Look at Grand Theft Auto. It’s arguably one of the greatest games ever made, yet some of its most memorable moments come from the ridiculous mods players have created. These mods not only make the game more fun but also generate viral moments, bringing even more attention to it. There’s no reason Football Manager couldn’t benefit from that same kind of energy.

The potential for FM mods is limitless, and I truly hope they aren’t stifled—even when the franchise sorts itself out. If anything, embracing them could be one of the smartest moves Sports Interactive makes.