Sports Interactive, the publisher of Football Manager, has secured a landmark, four-year licencing agreement with the Premier League.
The excitement around the imminent launch of FM 2025 is greater than ever before.
As announced last year, the upcoming version will use Unity, a cutting-edge game engine that powers numerous globally recognised games, such as Pokemon GO and the Cities Skyline series.
This implies that gamers of the beloved franchise will encounter a wholly novel appearance and atmosphere in the overall match-day experience. Players will immediately see enhancements to the match engine and graphics and a significantly enhanced user interface that will greatly enhance screen navigation and access to available information.
Sports Interactive director Miles Jacobson stated at this early stage, “We will introduce new technology for new gens and manager creation, which is already showing great potential.”
Sports Interactive asserts that the upcoming instalment of the game, anticipated to be launched in late 2024, will exhibit a heightened level of realism compared to previous versions.
Just last week, the makers of FM made the biggest announcement of all: a four-year deal with the Premier League was secured.
Say Goodbye to the “English Premier Division”
Football Manager has gained immense popularity in recent years despite not having a licence for the Premier League. In earlier editions, several clubs were granted licences. However, in FM24, only Brighton and Manchester City received accurate uniforms, logos, and player images among the EPL clubs. As a result, the competition had to be referred to as the ‘English Premier Division’.
Now, with the all-new licensing deal, starting in Football Manager 2025, all 20 Premier League clubs will have complete authorisation in the game, including official logos, jerseys, and player images that will be included in upcoming editions of Football Manager.
Consequently, users will be able to generate their own memorable Premier League moments and contribute to the game’s future editions.
What Have Sports Interactive and the EPL Said?
Sports Interactive’s studio director, Miles Jacobson, said:
“Since Football Manager’s inception, we have always wanted to work with the Premier League, and we’re delighted to announce that we are.
“The partnership isn’t just about the huge in-game benefits it’ll give our fans, but also the opportunities it provides us to help with the incredible things that the Premier League and their clubs do off the pitch. That includes community and charitable work, two things we’re enormously passionate about, and the ability to work with some of their existing partners.
“We are very grateful to the Premier League and their other partners in our space for enabling us to be an officially licensed product of the world’s most commercially successful football league.”
The Premier League’s Chief Commercial Officer, Will Brass, also discussed the upcoming partnership with SI and the Football Manager franchise:
“Football Manager has been a big part of the sporting landscape for decades and is loved and enjoyed by millions of fans worldwide.
“We are thrilled that the Premier League will now feature even more prominently in the game, helping to deliver a deeper, more authentic experience for anybody who takes on the challenge of managing a Premier League club.”
Well,
Football Manager’s Twenty-Year-Plus Impact
Football Manager and its comprehensive database have enhanced player recruitment methods for managers, analysts, and football clubs worldwide for more than 20 years.
Although the effects of this impact are still being experienced, the statistics generated by Football Manager have also extended into the realm of top online bookies, offering punters a greater variety of betting options than ever before.
Sports bettors and punters have recognised the value of statistical research and insights offered by games like Football Manager. These little differences can give players an edge, leading to significant victories and potentially profitable betting strategies.
Furthermore, the surge in revenue and unexpected financial gain that Football Manager can bring for football betting platforms and bettors has led to the establishment of numerous sports betting collaborations as bookmakers are now providing complimentary bets in combination with Football Manager.
The future of the sports betting sector appears to be increasingly questionable as more organisations seek to employ Football Manager and its statistical database to improve their betting services.
The Significance of Football Manager’s Premier League Licensing Deal
The collaboration between the world’s most prominent domestic football competition and one of the most prosperous sports video game series holds immense importance.
EA Sports has maintained exclusive rights to the Premier League for its FIFA (now EA FC) series for over twenty years as part of a broader publisher strategy to gain an advantage over competitors by securing official licences. Other video game franchises, including Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer series, have only been able to secure agreements with a maximum of two clubs at one given time.
The current six-year agreement between the Premier League and EA Sports is estimated to be valued at over UK£500 million (US$603 million), highlighting the significant value of the intellectual property to EA Sports FC, which is the leading football game in the market by a wide margin.
Nevertheless, Football Manager does not pose as a competitor to EA, particularly because EA ceased producing management simulation games quite some time ago. The Premier League acknowledges the importance of having a presence on Football Manager, a very influential platform with a large and enthusiastic player base.
Consequently, the EPL has modified its approach to licencing, guaranteeing that it not only gains financial advantages but also expands its presence in a wider range of gaming environments. The Premier League has formed a four-year relationship with Rezzil to develop an official virtual reality (VR) video game and its existing deals with EA Sports and Sports Interactive.
Due to the increasing popularity of video games among younger fans, the dynamics between rights holders and publishers in the football industry have evolved from merely transactional ties to more complex interactions. The Premier League, known for its strong marketing and commercial expertise, recognises the significance of reach and engagement, which can sometimes outweigh a small increase in direct revenue. However, it is evident that the league is already performing well in terms of revenue generation, and its newest partnership with Football Manager will merely serve as another step towards dominating landscapes off the pitch.
