SI unveils Football Manager MMO

Sports Interactive has revealed that it's working on a Football Manager MMO for PC and Mac.

It's due to be released in March 2008, and a beta test is planned to begin next month.

Football Manager Live will let you create and manage your own custom team, competing against up to 1000 other people on each game server.

"Imagine a cross between Football Manager, fantasy sports and auctions sites - and you are part of the way to understanding Football Manager Live," said Miles Jacobson, managing director of Sports Interactive. "It's great to be able to announce the game, and we can't wait to see the reaction to the beta when it launches next month."

You'll be able to have your team chosen automatically, or pick players from the game world yourself with a 100k wage limit. From there you'll chose one of many user-created or standard leagues to participate in. These could be specific leagues, such as a Wednesday table where games take place each week on a Wednesday evening. And don't worry if you miss a game - the computer will auto-play for you if you cannot make it.

The project is being led by Oliver Collyer, co-founder of SI, who briefly left to go travelling a few years ago. The game will only be small in size, around 11MB for PC and 15MB for Mac, giving you the chance to keep your teams up to date in Internet cafes when on holiday, or round your mate's house when he isn't looking.

It'll use the 2D match engine familiar to Football Manager fans, and present you with a wealth of options and tactics inherent to the popular series. Player trading will be done using an auction mechanic, where by you set the time and price and other people bid to win your talented dribblers.

And don't be put off by the MMO label, those with less time on their hands won't be at a big disadvantage, with casual players promised bigger point rewards from less frequent games.

Sports Interactive will be giving out exclusive beta keys throughout May. Keep an eye on the Football Manager Live website to find out more.

Alternatively keep your eyes peeled for our great big fantastic marvellous Football Manager Live feature, which will be published later today.