How to make sure that an anti-virus program isn't interfering with Football Manager?
Occasionally due to updates or system configuration, anti-virus programs have been known to interfere with Steam and Football Manager.
If you think it’s your anti-virus causing a problem with the game, we recommend adding Football Manager and the relevant platform to your exceptions. How to do this will depend on your anti-virus, we suggest you visit your anti-virus’s website for details on how to do this.
The first thing we recommend is ensuring that your FM Folders are excluded in your Anti-Virus software:
- C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Sports Interactive\
- C:\Users\<user>\Documents\Sports Interactive
If you think it’s still your anti-virus causing a problem with the game, it may be worth completely uninstalling the anti-virus program by following the instructions below:
- Turn on Windows Firewall/Windows Defender
- Uninstalling your active anti-virus program
Once you have set up your anti-virus as above (either with exceptions or uninstalled), we’d suggest uninstalling and reinstalling Football Manager.
The default Steam and Football Manager will be installed in the following locations:
Steam – C:\Program Files(x86)\Steam
Football Manager - C:\Program Files(x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\[Football Manager title]
Both the Microsoft Store and Xbox app are part of the Windows default apps. Both applications and Football Manager are stored in a hidden folder within C:\Program Files\WindowsApps. As this is a default hidden folder, we do not recommend you to temper with the folders in any way.
The default Epic and Football Manager will be installed in the following locations:
Epic – C:\Program Files(x86)\Epic Games
Football Manager - C:\Program Files (x86)\Epic Games\[Football Manager title]
If nothing above works, please submit a support request stating exactly what you've tried so far, and a member of our team will try to help.
Resetting FM27 launch options (Crash on Launch)
If you are experiencing a crash at game launch, we recommend that you try and reset your game settings via launch options on the relevant game platform.
Steps for each platform can be found by clicking the tabs below:
Resetting your Steam Launch Options
- Right-click Football Manager 27 in your Library
- Click Properties
- Find Launch Options box on the General tab
- Add --purge_settings to launch options
- Close Properties and relaunch Football Manager 27
Resetting your Epic Launch Options
- On the Epic Games Launcher, Click your profile icon and Settings
- Scroll down to find Football Manager 27
- Enable the tick box 'Additional Command Line Arguments'
- Add --purge_settings as a command line
- Go back to your Library and relaunch Football Manager 27
Resetting your Microsoft Store Launch Options
1. Enable hidden folders:
- Open File Explorer and go to the View tab.
-
Check the box next to Hidden items to make the
WindowsAppsfolder visible.
2. Locate the game's folder:
-
Navigate to the installation directory, typically
C:\Program Files\WindowsAppsorC:\XboxGames. - Find the game's folder, which might be within a publisher's or developer's subfolder.
-
Note: You may need to take ownership of the
WindowsAppsfolder to gain access.
3. Create a shortcut:
- Find the game's main executable file
-
Right-click the
.exefile and select Create shortcut or Create shortcut to desktop.
4. Add the launch options:
- Right-click the newly created shortcut and select Properties.
- Go to the Shortcut tab.
-
Click inside the Target field and place your cursor after the last closing quote mark (
"). - Press spacebar once and then type your desired launch option: --purge_settings
- Click Apply and then OK to save your changes.
5. Launch the game:
- Always launch the game using the shortcut you just modified to ensure the launch options are applied.
What should I do if Football Manager freezes or goes into black screen on launch?
If you find your game freezes indefinitely or is stuck on a black screen on launch, please do the following:
- Remove any custom graphics you might have installed
- Remove your cache and preferences
- Re-verify the game files
- Launch the game
If you’re still unable to resolve the issue, please try creating a new Sports Interactive\[Football Manager title] folder.
We would then suggest you run FM as administrator:
- Go to one of the following locations (dependent on your platform):
- Steam: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\[Football Manager title]
- Epic: C:\Program Files\Epic Games\[Football Manager title]
- Microsoft Store: C:\XboxGames\[Football Manager title]
- Right-click on the FM.exe
- Click 'Run as Administrator'
If you are a Steam user, try launching the game in windowed mode:
- Open Steam and access your Games Library
- Right-click on [Football Manager title] -> Properties -> General -> Set Launch Options
- Type this in the box: --no_exclusive_fullscreen
- Click on OK, close the window and launch Football Manager through Steam
If you find your game freezes indefinitely or is stuck on a black screen on launch, please do the following:
- Remove any custom graphics you might have installed
- Remove your cache and preferences
- Re-verify the game files
- Launch the game
If you’re still unable to resolve the issue, please try creating a new Sports Interactive\[Football Manager title] folder.
If the above instructions couldn’t resolve your issue, please submit a support ticket and our team will try and help you.
What should I do if I encounter a crash when launching or playing Football Manager?
If you encountered an error message when launching Football Manager, please click here for more information.
If you have encountered a crash when launching Football Manager, please try the following:
- Remove any custom graphics or editor files
- Remove Caches and Preferences
- Verify Game Files
If the above doesn't help, we suggest completing the following steps. Please try launching the game after each stage and see if the troubleshooting guide fixes the issue.
If you have a crash with on of the following error messages, please click the relevant link for more info:
If you’ve encountered a crash whilst starting Football Manager, please try the following troubleshooting guides:
- Check that your device meets the minimum specifications listed on the store page
- Remove any custom graphics or editor files
- Remove Caches and Preferences
- Verify Game Files
Once you've done the above, please re-launch the game and try again.
If you are crashing on a specific in-game date, please try all the above troubleshooting methods before submitting a support ticket. To speed up the investigation, please provide the relevant crash dump file and a save game (preferably just before the crash happens).
What should I do if I encounter a crash when quitting Football Manager on Steam?
If you encounter a crash when quitting Football Manager on Steam and have installed the Epic Games Launcher in your system, please try the following:
- Launch the Epic Games Launcher
- Click on the account logo in the top right corner
- Click ‘Restart and Update’ to update the launcher
- Once you’ve updated the Epic Game Launcher, you should be able to quit Football Manager without crashing on Steam.
If the above doesn't help, we’d recommend uninstalling and reinstalling the game. Any save games will be kept safe during this process, as they can only be removed manually.
If you find nothing above helps, please submit a support ticket and our team will try to help.