The wrapping paper is finally off on the latest offering from Watford sponsors Football Manager, a game many of us have given up (or sacrificed) more time on than we could care to admit.

At an intimate reveal at Pro:Direct's Carnaby Street store in London this week, studio director Miles Jacobson gave a small huddle of lucky guests the chance to see what additions we will see in FM17 when it is released next month - and there are a lot.

In recent seasons, new features have included deciding whether to be a tracksuit or tactical manager, new transfer clauses, or even a streamlined "classic" mode, for people to pretend they've got other things to be getting on with.

Miles is a life-long Watford fan, and has been the driving force in developing the relationship between the Hornets and game makers Sports Interactive, whose presence you can't miss at Vicarage Road.

Although not a new addition, Watford are one of only two Premier League clubs to have their kits and badge licensed, having been joined by Everton for the upcoming game.

This year's feature list seems more of a sea change - not least the addition of social media, allowing you to be lambasted by virtual keyboard warriors on Twitter after a dour home draw with West Bromwich Albion, as well as greater integration of match analysis and sports science within the game.

And that is where the Watford connection comes into its own - and speaking to Miles at the launch, he revealed just how much of an influence the Hornets have had on the world’s most popular management simulation.

“The access we have at Watford is probably unparalleled with any other club in the game, or any other game in the world,” he said. “I thank them very much for that.

“They are able to use our database, as other clubs do, and I work closely with a lot of people at the club. I’m very lucky to be in that position and that’s given us the position to talk to some people you wouldn’t get to know at other clubs.

“Watford were definitely an influence for the sports scientist and data analyst roles in the game, because I was able to talk directly to those members of staff, and learn more about what they do and talk to other people in the game as well.

“For other teams, we'd love to have a licence for all of the Premier League - but EA have it on a long-term deal, and they sell about 20 times as many games as we do. I can’t knock them or the money they put into football though.”

In the half-hour launch video, which you can see at the bottom of this article, around 200 of the new features were covered - there are some 1,300 in total.

With quite so much crammed into this iteration of FM, it’s perhaps a surprise that early feedback has suggested it is among the most polished versions of the game in its 12-year history since splitting from Championship Manager.

“Including social media is a big innovation, but so is doubling the amount of decisions which are made in the match engine,” Miles said. “In 2017 players are making decisions between every one seventh and eight of a second, the computational power needed for that is huge.

“People will definitely notice the differences in the match engine, majorly. Playing it, I’m noticing big changes in the transfer market and the pre-contract conversations.

“The whole game just seems right this year. We've got it right in other years, albeit not every year. People are telling us the game is really polished compared to other years, which is great considering the stage we are at at the moment.

“Each year I try to ensure everyone gets value for money. Growing up as a kid from Watford, getting a job in Quick Burger when I was 15 and then working in Past and Present Records, I know what it’s like to do jobs which aren’t the best.

"In some ways our game is an escape from people’s normal lives, and I’m proud the average play time is more than 200 hours a year."

Growing up not far from the shadow of Vicarage Road, Miles’ association with Watford began on the terraces in the late 1970s, and has always been at the forefront of his life.

He still finds time to have a season ticket in the Elton John stand - and trips to the Vic are now proving a rare escape from the rigours of running a studio which has sold more than a million copies of FM in the past year alone.

“I’m up until three or four in the morning at this time of year,” Miles told us. “Being at the football is pretty much the only time I’m not working. Saying that, a few weeks ago I spent a couple of hours working in a car park in Watford after a game.

“I first went when I was seven and was hooked - I was lucky enough to see John Barnes’ debut when he came on for Kenny Jackett, and he’s the ultimate hero, but there’s a lot more who were there for long periods.

“I think we’ll be fine in the league, my target as a fan was to finish where we were or above last year, and we’re bringing in good players like Isaac Success, and Adalberto Penaranda at Udinese.

“Roberto Pereyra could go on to be one of the best signings the club has made, he’s a superb footballer, and we’ve still got Troy. You can’t go far wrong with him.

"I love what the Pozzos have done for the club. Its incredible being a Watford fan at the moment. Any fan complaining about anything going on at our club at the moment needs a bit of a reality check of where we were five years ago, to where we are now. It’s phenomenal the job that they’ve done.”

You can see the full version of the release video here: