Sports Interactive issues statement regarding COVID-19 (they're hiring, FM2021 will be later than usual, releasing on "more platforms")

[Delusibeta]

Via the official website:

Something else I'm very grateful for is that, rather than finding ourselves having to lay people off during this crisis, we've actually accelerated our hiring programme over the past few months and I'm incredibly proud that we have introduced more than 20 new members to the SI team since lockdown began… and we're not finished yet (check out the open roles on our recently-refreshed studio website).

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We've been very quiet about future plans throughout this period, but then I never like us to talk about our plans until everything is definitively settled. I know that frustrates some of our fans, but it's a policy that's worked well for us in the 25+ years we've been making games. What I can confirm today is that, despite all the problems going on in the world, there will be new Football Manager games released later this year. They will be delivered a little later than we'd originally planned, but they'll have exceptionally strong feature sets… albeit different to those we thought we'd settled on back in January when I completed my 'dream feature set'.

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Our games will be on more platforms and available on more stores than ever before when they're released later this year but, with regards to features and release dates, it's a little too early for us to talk about the specifics right now. Please cut us a little bit of slack and rest assured that we will once again deliver a set of games that provide hundreds of hours of entertainment and remain the best value for money on the market – and something to help you escape from the real world at the moment, at least for a while.

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So, "available on more stores" I presume means FM2021 will be released on the Epic Games Store (in addition to Steam), but it's the "more platforms" that I'm curious about. They already support Windows, Mac, Stadia, Switch, iOS and Android. While I wouldn't mind seeing their Stadia work resulting in a native Linux port, I do think they're referring to PlayStation and Xbox here, given those are the two biggest "platforms" that doesn't regularly get some version of Football Manager. Given that the last two FMs were on PC Games Pass, perhaps Microsoft splashed some cash to get an Xbox version of the ground? Maybe they're porting FM Touch to PS & Xbox after the success of the Switch version? Who knows.

 

[Sotonian]

Hopefully the Man United court case thing doesn't mess anything up too much, honestly dont think i could buy another FM game if modding and editing was removed

 

[Patitoloco]

I can't wait to spend another lifetime playing this.

I wonder if they will tackle the new set of rules and situations this COVID stuff has forced into implementation, given how they actually simulate stuff like Brexit.

 

[Lashley]

I'm fine waiting, will get it day 1 whenever it relases.

 

[Damn Silly]

If more platforms means Xbox/PS, I am absolutely back on that crack. The only reason I stopped was because my years-old laptop (that I'm still fine for using for everything else I need it to do) was barely running it.

 

[SnowHawk]

I hope they mean that they are bringing the full version to PS4/5 Xbox One/ Series X.