While Championship Manager and Football Manager might be considered the giants of the soccer management genre, Kevin Toms deserves his place in history for creating the original Football Manager franchise all the way back in 1982.
The first title effectively created the entire genre, and is fondly remembered by many who owned home computer in the '80s. Toms revived the series for smartphones as Football Star* Manager in 2016, and launched a Kickstater in 2022 to fund the development of a new title.
This month sees the release of Kevin Toms Football Star* Manager on Steam, and we were lucky enough to speak to the 68-year-old legend himself about his upcoming game.
Time Extension: You were arguably one of the first "celebrity" video game developers, thanks to the fact that your face appeared on the cover of Football Manager in 1982. Whose choice was that, and why did you think it would be so effective?
Kevin Toms: It’s a good question, and the reasons are simple but not obvious. I didn’t do that from the beginning. It came about because when I attended game shows and was demoing the game, I would say, “I did this in the game because…” And the person I was talking to would become excited, “You wrote it?” They were already players and thought I was just working on the stand. Then the conversation would go up another level, as they had a chance to talk to me about what they loved and what they did in the game.
I reflected on this, and looked over at books and music and thought, “People want to know the creators, authors, composers, not the publishers. It should be the creators on the packaging, not the publishing label”. It seemed obvious to me; we were a new industry and I thought I was doing something that everyone would then do. Some did. So, I just saw the parallel with books and music and thought we should be the same.
Football management games have evolved at a dramatic pace since the launch of your game in 1982. Why do you think your title is so fondly remembered today, despite the relentless march of technology?
I think that’s because of the core strength of its gameplay. It is still very enjoyable to play and has a pace and subtlety that keeps you wanting to play. It’s simpler but subtle, and much faster to get to fun or exciting events than more complex games.
What quality of life improvements have been made for this Steam release?
The Steam version has leaderboards which brings in multiplayer competition. There are a few changes under the hood; cloud saving is added so you can play on multiple devices, and there are more incremental improvements to come.
Some of your fans have been playing your games for over 40 years now. Are you amazed that something you've created has resonated over the decades?
Amazed, yes. I think it shows that for a computer game like other types of games, the way it plays is more important than the technology or the visuals.
Kevin Toms Football Star Manager launches on August 14, 2025 – just in time for the new Premier League season.