In less than two months two new pieces of hardware will enter the gaming space ushering in a new generation after seven years with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. As it is with any generation change, developers areutilizing both existing player bases and those upgradingto spread as far across the market. Yet, for one developer its annual simulation franchise will be skipping out on a set of consoles
Football Manager 2021isset to release this November on PCwith a Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series version following in December. Noticeably absent from the list of planned platforms are Sony consoles with the PlayStation 4 and upcoming PlayStation 5 not getting the next franchise entry. Amid confusion fromFootball Managerfans over the omission of the PlayStation family of consoles, developer Saber Interactive provided reasoning for the decision.
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According to Saber Interactive, the decision to not bringFootball Manager 2021to the PlayStation consoles was not actually what the developer wanted. In a series of tweets, studio director Miles Jacobson gave those upset over the platform selection a frank response. According to the developer, the sole reason thatFootball Manageris not coming to PlayStation is because Sony did not provide the team with Dev Kits. Jacobson noted that Saber Interactive requested dev kits for both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 but were subsequently not given one to use.
In Jacobson’s first tweet, they state that Xbox had been persistent on requests for theFootball Managerfranchise to “come back to their consoles.” Jacobson explains that it was because of this interest from Microsoft thatFootball Manager 19andFootball Manager 20made it to Game Pass. It was after this initial tweet that many unaware fans questioned why Saber Interactive could not just port the game to PlayStation without Sony’s assistance. This prompted Jacobson to explain the procedure of dev kits and authorization required in the porting process.
Jacobson did provide further update to make it clear that his series of tweets were simply intended to explain whyFootball Manager 2021would not be on PlayStation, not a means to push the blame onto Sony. The developer understood that dev kits are in limited supply, thus Sony would have to prioritize where PlayStation 5 dev kits are sent out to.
With the next entry of the franchise set for release soon,Football Manager 2020has made headlines recently for a successful free promotion on the Epic Games Store. With so many more players able to test the waters with what the simulation is all about, it might be the best way to see ifFootball Manager 2021might be worth the investment. Although some fans might be holding off until its confirmed if the next game will feature a popular team afterManchester United sued publisher Segaover trademark infringement.
Football Manager 2021will launch for PC on November 24, followed by Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Switch releases in December. A version for iOS and Android is also in development.
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