This article was originally published on July 25, 2025 - read the full issue here

By Patrick Garratt

Kevin Toms is often referred to as the godfather of sports sims, having created the original Football Manager in 1982. Despite the franchise's age, it's still being sold independently by Toms, who will release a Steam version of Kevin Toms Football Star Manager, a recreation of the original 1982 game which already exists in mobile versions, on August 14.

How does he sell something so old? In short, nothing's really changed since the ZX Spectrum days.

"I would say the most important thing is still good gameplay, that it's fun to play," says Toms when asked about the 43 years since the original Football Manager released. The game itself, the mobile version of which appeared in 2016, remains faithful to the 1982 version and was converted by Toms himself. The project lasted 18 months, and forms the basis of the 2025 PC release.

"There has been some change for Steam, but essentially it's the same core," Toms says, adding that the conversion work took "some months".

"So it was kind of a low-hanging fruit for me, rather than look for someone else who'll have to start to learn how my code works."

Funky uncle?

The pertinent question regarding such an old game is, of course, how it manages to remain relevant. An addictive gameplay loop is fine, but old is old. Age can be a positive commercial factor, though. The nostalgia aspect cannot be overlooked when talking of KTFSM, which retains a specifically retro interface, Toms says, to remain faithful to the original version and its fans.

"You know, it's amazing how often people say, 'I have no idea you've done that, I didn't know you'd recreated it, I want it.'"

Toms adds: "If you hear a song from years ago, it reminds you of happy times and that's partly why you like this song. Well, I realised [by] meeting a lot of people, which I hadn't done originally, how much the game meant to them.

"I also realised that it wasn't just a game. They were playing a game for a long time and had a lot of social life [associated with it], with friends and everything."

Nostalgia, and the community that uses KTFSM for this purpose, remains the root of the contemporary project. New features have been added, but Toms stuck "fairly religiously" to the original format.

"Some people are asking for features that were changed from the original. I had a discussion with people playing the game and I said, 'I can do this.' I got the overwhelming response: 'No, keep it classic form – we like that.' There's a nostalgia part. So I did that. That's basically the basis of Football Star Manager."

There is a gap for this product. Toms notes that while 200 hours spent playing one of the modern versions of Football Manager might net a player seven seasons, the same playtime would account for 200 seasons in his version.

Genre diversity also allows a game from the '80s stay viable next to large-team software such as the Sports Interactive series (especially given Sega cancelled FM25 in February)

"What's the point of doing this when there's a huge Football Manager? It's the equivalent of a genre in music, like rock music. There's one big rock band, so nobody else can make rock? It's only a genre."

Space Agency

Toms is a solo developer who's travelled the world over the last 40 years, working as a business software developer for media companies, the City, banks, and "even a bit for the European Space Agency.

"I think that is one way of doing it as an indie developer, to have a second thing," Toms says.

He's in a unique position. Toms is a known figure in a media genre where there are remarkably few. His face famously appeared on the advertising for the original game (and adorns the KTFSM packaging), and thanks to his status as one of genuine creators of the sport simulation genre (the original was written on a Video Genie, the 1980 EACA home PC) he's been able to revitalise both the software and his personal exposure.

"It's very rewarding. It was particularly surprising, unexpected, when I started doing things like attending retro shows and meeting people. It's a very positive reaction you get from people. They're very happy to talk about their experiences, like, 'We used to come home from school [and play Football Manager], and it means so much,' and everything. So, it's a very positive experience. And I feel fortunate, really."

This article was originally published on July 25, 2025 - read the full issue here