I created an iconic video game from humble beginnings – now it makes £300MILLION a year and is played all over the world

6 months ago 39

THE ICONIC game Football manager has broken records, made millions of pounds and even launched players into the real professional world of football.

Released in 2004, The popular game sold six million copies last year – meaning it has raked millions for its developers.

Football Manager is mostly played in the UK and according to them are close to generating 2 million players a year[/caption]

The Franchise made £300 million off pure revenue after selling six million copies of last year’s game for around £50 each.

Football Manager allows players to take charge of their favourite football team and manage them all the way to glory.

It has also launched players into the real world of professional football, most famously Stade de Reims coach Will Still.

Since its release, the gaming community has expanded rapidly, with last year’s game played by six million people.

Miles Jacobson has been the manager behind Football Manager since the first game was released and under his leadership has managed to grow the firm Sports Indirective from five staff to over 250 – with around 1,300 researchers around the world.

Miles told the BBC: “The way that I see it, I’m actually making the game for me – it just so happens that there are a few million other people like me out there.

“Games aren’t cheap for people to buy, so we’re determined to make the best value for money game every year, so people are getting a lot of playtime out of their £40-50 that they’ve worked so hard to try and get.”

Today marks the release of the 20th game in the Football Manager series and this will be the last of its kind – with next year’s game set to be reimagined and redesigned on a different engine.

Football Manager’s graphics have improved drastically since its release in 2004.

With better technology, it evolved from its text-based beginnings to using motion capture rendering players in 3D.

However, Football Manager 24 is ditching motion capture for “motion matching” which uses real data from football matches and applies it to the movement of footballers in the game itself.

This year’s game will make a debut in Japan for the first time in its history, with the addition of the J-league (Japan’s top football league) also being added to the game.

Another new feature that is set to excite players is the ability to continue from where they left off in Football Manager 23 – As players progress from last year’s game can carry directly into Football Manager 24.

According to Sports Interactive, this feature has already been used by 25% of players who had pre-ordered the game.

Miles said: “It’s definitely our most requested feature from the community, and it’s the most pre-ordered game we’ve ever had.

“This is going to be the last game in the Football Manager series as you know it… we wanted this to be a celebration of the end of an era.”

For next year’s game Miles Jacobson confirmed that women’s football will be added.

Tim Keech, head of women’s football research at Sports Interactive told the BBC that a huge issue has been assigning stats to the respected players.

Tim said: “I think everyone who’s involved in women’s football knows the data isn’t accurate, Even with federations, some of their data is inaccurate.

“The legacy of the women’s game is really important,” she said, adding: “To be part of that growth and seeing where we fit in, it’s really exciting. And I just want my daughters to go: ‘Yeah, my mummy did that!”

It has been a long time in the making, but the 20th game in the Football Manager series is the last time it will only be focused on male players.

“We should remember where we’ve come from, and those [female] players that have really driven for the game.”

If you are into your football have a look at why Mauricio Pochettimo refuses to rule out managing Tottenham.

Or check out how fans managed to get on the track at the end of the F1 Brazillian Grand Prix.