Choose Football Manager 2020
Choose Football Manager 2020 if you want the Steam Leaderboards side of the pairing. 6,861 Steam reviews back the pick.
Football Manager 2020 vs Football Manager 2021
Football Manager 2020 and Football Manager 2021 both land in Sports, Simulation on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Sports, Simulation on Steam. Football Manager 2020 (2019) is 1 year older than Football Manager 2021 (2020). Football Manager 2021 scores higher on Steam reviews (94% positive) than Football Manager 2020 (90.9% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Football Manager 2021
Choose Football Manager 2021 if it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 94% positive across 6,043 reviews.
Both Football Manager 2020 and Football Manager 2021 sit in Sports and Simulation on Steam and both list Multi-player, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 Football Manager 2020 |  Football Manager 2021 | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2019 | 2020 |
| Genres | Sports, Simulation | Sports, Simulation |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS | Windows, macOS |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Deck Playable |
| Price | Price unknown | Price unknown |
| Steam reviews | 90.9% positive (6,861 reviews) | 94% positive (6,043 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player | Multi-player |
| Developers | Sports Interactive | Sports Interactive |
Side by side
- Both share Sports, Simulation on Steam.
- Football Manager 2020 (2019) is 1 year older than Football Manager 2021 (2020).
- Football Manager 2021 scores higher on Steam reviews (94% positive) than Football Manager 2020 (90.9% positive).
- Both are Deck Playable.
Football Manager 2020 vs Football Manager 2021 — FAQ
- Which is better, Football Manager 2020 or Football Manager 2021?
- On Steam reviews Football Manager 2021 scores higher (94% positive) than Football Manager 2020 (90.9% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Football Manager 2021 is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play Football Manager 2020 or Football Manager 2021 first?
- If you want chronology, Football Manager 2020 (2019) came out before Football Manager 2021 (2020). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Football Manager 2020 and Football Manager 2021 similar?
- They overlap on Sports, Simulation on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.