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The creator of the football management sim, Kevin Toms, is partnering up with the homebrew publisher Midnight Brew Games for a new ZX Spectrum-based collection, inspired by the series that made him famous.
ZX Football Manager - The Legacy Collection is a new limited edition box set, developed in collaboration with the '80s developer, containing the original 1982 Football Manager on cassette, along with two updated versions of the game, described as "different flavours of the groundbreaking management simulation".
This includes Football Manager Revisited — a revised version of the classic game by Glen Anderson that adds "the top four European leagues as well as updated modern teams and players, and many new features" — and Football Manager Revisited: International Edition, which allows you to recreate the 2026 and 1982 World Cups (the latter tournament is exclusive to the physical release, the digital version is available here).
According to the press release, the collection is presented in "a premium protective slipcase and high-quality presentation box featuring foam-protected cassette editions with reversible covers" and will also include additional bonuses such as a signed replica of Tom's Addictive Games business card and a full-colour 24-page "Matchday Programme," containing the following:
- Profiles of every player from the original squad in classic sticker-book format
- A special Roy of the Rovers-inspired comic strip charting Kevin’s journey.
- Archive photography and development documents from the original game.
- Behind-the-scenes insights into the rise of Addictive Games, from a one-man mail-order outfit to a million-selling games publisher.
- Fully restored vintage artwork presented as a centrefold feature.
- Contemporary reviews, adverts, game variants and puzzles.
We asked Allan Turvey, of Midnight Brew Games, why the publisher decided to put together this collection, and here's what he told us: "We put this set together to celebrate the original Football Manager as not just a simulation on an old 8-bit computer, but as a culturally and historically important piece of work whose story says a lot about the social history of Britain at a time of huge upheaval and change, and whose influence continues to this day. We wanted to tell that story properly.
As for whether they are worried about releasing the game without a PFA/FIFA license, Turvey added: "As to the question of licensing teams and players, we're hopeful that this will be seen in the spirit in which it is offered - the digital versions of all three games in this collection are non-commercial and available as free downloads - our aim here is to provide a very limited run on a classic physical format, as a souvenir shelf piece."
If you're interested in securing your own copy of this limited-run piece, you can order it now from Midnight Brew Games for £36 (+£8 for delivery in the UK). It is expected to ship in June/July 2026.