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Retro ManagerNewsWhy Doesn't Retro Manager Use Real Clubs and Players?
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Why Doesn't Retro Manager Use Real Clubs and Players?

Retro Manager · published 7 Jul 2026, 12:48 UTC

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One of the questions I'm asked most often is why Retro Manager doesn't include real clubs, leagues and players.The simple answer is licensing.The rights to use official club names, badges, kits, competitions and player names are owned by different organisations and require commercial licensing agreements. For large publishers these costs are part of doing business, but for an independent developer they're simply out of reach.Rather than spend years chasing expensive licences, I've chosen to focus on what matters most to me: building the best football management experience I can.Every feature added to Retro Manager—from the match engine and scouting to player development, Steam Workshop support and ongoing gameplay improvements—has been created with that goal in mind.The fictional world also gives players something a little different. New clubs can rise, new rivalries can form, and every save develops its own history without being tied to real-world football.For players who enjoy creating their own worlds, the Steam Workshop makes it easy to share databases, leagues and other community creations. Seeing what the community builds has been one of the most rewarding parts of developing the game.Could Retro Manager ever feature official licences? I'd never say never, but the reality is that those licences are extremely expensive and well beyond the budget of a small independent studio.For now, I'd much rather invest my time and resources into improving the game itself than paying for names and logos.Thank you to everyone who has supported Retro Manager so far. Every purchase, review, suggestion and bug report helps me continue developing the game, and there's still plenty more to come.

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In-game event14 Sep 2026New updateScout search from assistant screen now shows popup player cards · Board confidence broken out in manager profile · Playable Scottish and Swiss League sadded · Sweden, Switzerland, Mexico, Japan, Nigeria, Morocco player nationalities added · Processing data overlay added · Option to auto apply assistant recommendations or auto XI before match kickoff. · Fixed subbed player scoring bug · Fixed pl…In-game event9 Sep 2026UpdateNew Features · Added hidden player attributes. · Added the player’s age to the profile top bar. · Player attributes are now visible on player cards. · Added the MF player role. · Added a Windows desktop fullscreen option in Settings. · The Top 50 U21 list now includes players from all active leagues. · Added live team balances to the save-game editor and exported JSON files. Sandbox Cheats · Ad…In-game event3 Sep 2026Penalty Shootouts, Playoff Improvements & MoreThis update brings watchable penalty shootouts, improved playoff rules, more realistic transfers, smarter opponents, and plenty of match-day polish. Penalty Shootouts · Cup, continental, and playoff ties that go to penalties now remain on the pitch. · The match clock changes to PENS during a shootout. · Watch each named penalty being scored, saved, or missed , followed by the winning celebratio…