[SOLVED] Football Manager 2021 Stuck On Loading Screen

Having trouble loading Football Manager 2021 (FM21)? You’re not alone. Many players reported their game also getting stuck on the loading screen. The good news is that there are some working fixes available. Read on and find out what they are…

Try these fixes…

You don’t have to try them all; just work your way down the list until you find the one that does the trick!

1: Unsubscribe from all the workshop items

2: Verify your game files

3: Delete the preferences and/or cache folder(s)

4: Backup and move your game files

5: Update your graphics driver

6: Perform a clean boot

Fix 1: Unsubscribe from all the workshop items

Outdated or damaged workshop items could interfere with the game when it’s launching. If your FM21 gets stuck on loading screen, you should try removing all the workshop files first:

1. Launch Steam client. Go to your profile page.
2. Under Workshop Items, you can filter by game and pull out the list of all subscriptions for Football Manager 2021.
   
3. Click Unsubscribe From All.
   
4. Click OK to confirm.
   

If you’ve unsubscribed all the workshop items and the game still won’t load, try the next fix.

Fix 2: Verify your game files

Another quick fix you can try is to verify your game files, which can be done within the Steam client and Epic Games Launcher. If any files are found missing in your local game folders, the game launcher will add them to your game folders and you should then be able to run FM21 without any problems. Here’s how:

On Steam

1. Go to your Steam library and find FM21. Right-click the game icon then click Properties.
   
2. Under the LOCAL FILES tab, click Verify integrity of game files.
   
3. Wait for Steam to complete the scan. It will take some time depending on the size of the game.

On Epic Games Launcher

1. Find Football Manager 2021 in your Epic Games library, then click on the three-dot icon next to the game title.
2. Click Verify in the drop-down menu.
3. Wait for Epic Games Launcher to complete the scan. It may take a while depending on the size of FM21.

If verifying the game files doesn’t solve your problem, try the next fix.

Fix 3: Delete the preferences and/or cache folder(s)

It’s suggested by SEGA to delete your preferences and/or cache folder(s) to solve the error of FM21 being stuck on loading screen. Here’s how:

1. Press the Windows key and E on the keyboard to open the File Explorer.
2. Click View in the header, and make sure Hidden items are ticked to be shown.
   
3. Navigate to C:\Users\[Your Username]\AppData\Local\Sports Interactive\Football Manager 2021.
4. Delete the Preferences and/or Cache folder(s).
5. Run FM21 to test the issue.

If this doesn’t solve your problem, move on to the next fix.

Fix 4: Backup and move your game files

Sometimes a random game error can be solved by backing up and transferring your game files. Although the Steam client now has the built-in feature to help the players do this, there’s no similar feature in Epic Games Launcher. Here we’ll introduce the manual way to do it, which only takes a few steps and will work on both game launchers:

1. Right-click an empty area on your desktop, select New and click Folder. You can name this new folder as “backup FM21” to distinguish it.
   
2. Navigate to C:\Users\[Your Username]\AppData\Local\Sports Interactive\Football Manager 2021.
3. Cut all the folders here and paste them into the new folder you created on the desktop.
4. Launch Football Manager 2021 to test the issue. If the game now loads, you can copy the game files back to the original installation path.

If the game still gets stuck on loading screen, try the next fix.

Fix 5: Update your graphics driver

If you’ve tried the fixes above but nothing worked, it’s time to consider updating your graphics driver. When your graphics driver is outdated or faulty, FM21 may have a problem proceeding to the graphics card check, and thus get stuck on the loading screen.

One way to keep your graphics card driver up-to-date is to manually update it via Device Manager. If Windows suggests your driver is up-to-date, you can still check if there’s actually a newer version and manually update it in Device Manager.

Go to the manufacturer’s website, and search for the latest correct driver. Be sure to choose only the driver that’s compatible with your Windows version.

• NVIDIA
• INTEL
• AMD
• Asus

Automatic driver update – If you don’t have the time, patience, or computer skills to update your driver manually, you can, instead, do it automatically with Driver Easy. Driver Easy will automatically recognize your system and find the correct driver for your exact video card and your Windows version, then it will download and install it correctly:

1. Download and install Driver Easy.
2. Run Driver Easy and click the Scan Now button. Driver Easy will then scan your computer and detect any problem drivers.
3. Click the Update button next to the flagged graphics driver to automatically download the correct version of the driver, then you can manually install it (you can do this with the FREE version).
   
   Or click Update All to automatically download and install the correct version of all the drivers that are missing or out of date on your system. (This requires the Pro version which comes with full support and a 30-day money-back guarantee. You’ll be prompted to upgrade when you click Update All.)
   

Restart your PC for the new driver to take effect. If your Football Manager 2021 still gets stuck on loading screen, try the last fix.

Fix 6: Perform a clean boot

A clean boot will start your PC with the minimum sets of drivers and services that Windows requires to run. 

By doing a clean boot, you can identify if any background program is interfering with Football Manager 2021, and thus causing the error.

Here’s how to perform a clean boot:

1. In the search bar next to the Start button, type msconfig then click System Configuration.
   
2. Under the Services tab, check Hide all Microsoft services, then click Disable all and OK.
   
3. Switch to the Startup tab, click Open Task Manager.
   (Windows 7 users: right-click anywhere empty on your taskbar to find the option of task manager.)
   
4. Under Startup tab, click each startup item then click Disable until you’ve disabled all startup items.
   
5. Restart your PC.

If Football Manager 2021 still gets stuck on loading screen, you can consider reinstalling the whole game, or contact SEGA for support.

If FM21 now starts, this means at least one of the programs you disabled was causing the problem.

Here’s how to find out which one(s):

1. In the search bar next to the Start button, type msconfig then click System Configuration.
   
2. Under the Services tab, tick the Hide all Microsoft services checkbox, then tick the checkboxes in front of the first five items in the list.
   Then click Apply and OK.
   
3. Reboot your computer and launch FM21. If it once again won’t launch, then you know that one of the services you ticked above is conflicting with it. If it does launch, then the above five services are fine, and you’ll have to keep looking for the offending service.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 above until you find the service that conflicts with FM21.
   
   NOTE: We recommend testing five items in a group since it’s more efficient, but you’re welcome to do it at your own pace.

If you don’t find any problematic services, you’ll need to test the startup items. Here’s how:

1. Right-click anywhere empty on your taskbar and click Task Manager.
   
2. Switch to the Startup tab, and enable the first five startup items.
   
3. Reboot and try launching Football Manager 2021.
4. Repeat until you find the startup item that’s conflicting with FM21.
5. Disable the problem program and reboot your PC.

Hopefully this article helps and you can now load FM21 and enjoy the game! Please feel free to leave a comment if you have any suggestions or questions.

• Epic Games Launcher
• game error
• Steam