Sports Interactive has lifted the lid on this year’s entry into the Football Manager series, revealing that the game will contain more than 900 additions to last year’s title.

The major new addition is a Classic Mode which streamlines the Football Manager experience and allows seasons to be completed in just 10 hours. Classic Mode includes various challenges and allows users to take control of teams mid-season, there will also be micro-transactions included in this version of the game.

However, this doesn’t mean that the team is abandoning the full version of the game, key new features include:

• An improved 3D match engine
• New staff roles (including director of football)
• Enhanced media interaction
• New online functionality and global management leaderboards
• National tax policy (for transfers)
• Deeper training options
• Renovated user interface

“I would like to stress to our many, many fans around the world that the introduction of Football Manager Classic will not impact in any way on the game that they’ve come to know and love,” said Sports Interactive studio director Miles Jacobson. “For those who still want the full, ‘hands-on’ experience, FM13 offers exactly what they’re looking for – a bigger, better and even more immersive version of the world’s greatest football management simulation.”

Sports Interactive also provided a breakdown of each of the new features:

Improved 3D match engine

Sports Interactive has again worked on visual fidelity for its 3D match engine, with a focus on making stadiums, crowds and animations more realistic. The camera system has also undergone a revamp to make it more “televisual”. Sports Interactive said that new AI tech will improve the believability of footage on screen.

New staff roles

The key addition is a Director of Football who can (if necessary) assume control of some managerial duties, such as contract negotiations. Sports Interactive has not confirmed any further details but one key gameplay element could be maintaining a working relationship with the Director of Football. Meanwhile. the number of specialist coaches has increased and the manager has greater flexibility to choose which coaches to seek advice from and when to do this.

Improved media interaction

Sports Interactive says it has again revamped the media interviews segment of the game. Managers can adopt different tones to provide additional context to their responses.

Online games and global leaderboards

The multiplayer segment of the game will utilize Steam system’s network functionality, allowing players to establish online games more fluidly. New league and cup options are added to the career mode for online play. One mode allows players to take a player’s team developed in their single-player game and test it against other players online.

Worldwide leaderboards allows players to compare their achievements against others’. Sports Interactive says that the leaderboards “use a sophisticated scoring system that takes into account a variety of factors including the level a manager chooses to compete at, his or her club’s financial performance and even their in-game wages – making the new manager contract negotiation feature a really important addition to the game”.

Enhanced training

More options for team training are available, all viewed through a simplified overview panel. “Managers can now choose where they want to focus their team’s training, whether that is on more general routines or in preparing for specific matches,” Sports Interactive said.

Realistic tax regimes

Transfer negotiations will be made even more dramatically complex with some footballers preferring to sign for clubs with better tax rates on transfers.

Football Manager 2013 is due out before Christmas for PC and Mac.

What do you think of the improvements? Let us know in the comments below.