Jack
Marco, with respect, you’re comparing several things here that aren’t actually equivalent, and that’s where the conclusion goes off track.
At a surface level, “manager game vs manager game” sounds fair. F1 Manager is offline and has no server infrastructure, isn't maintained or updated. The publishing realities are also completely different. F1 Manager was built and published by a company with existing annual turnover in the region of £100m. They didn’t need that game to sustain the business. Even so, the series underperformed, ended up heavily discounted, and was abandoned early because it wasn’t worth maintaining.
That’s not a model we can lean on. We self-publish, run everything in-house, and this game has to stand on its own financially. There isn’t another revenue stream quietly subsidising a free service for everyone else.
The £120 per year figure also doesn’t reflect how the system actually works. Leagues themselves remain free. Racing daily remains free. What’s monetised is optional league customisation that decouples a league from the shared ecosystem — and that cost applies per league, not per person. One person can cover it, or a league can split it. At the lowest tier, even a £5 monthly boost split across a full league works out at pennies per person.
Framing it as “everyone must pay £120 a year to play” simply isn’t accurate. Most players won’t pay anything at all. Those who do are opting into additional flexibility and shared perks, including XP benefits that would cost more if purchased individually.
When you zoom out to the system level, what you’re really looking at is a large free-to-play population supported by a small amount of optional spend, which in turn pays for servers, live simulations, development, support, and the streaming of large volumes of data on an ongoing basis. That’s the only way a live service like this can remain viable long-term.
I understand why the change feels uncomfortable, any structural shift does, but the idea that this removes the ability to play as before, or forces everyone into a high recurring cost, isn’t what’s actually being proposed.
I understand the F1 Manager model isn't one you can lean on. What I am saying is that the main motivations for playing an enjoying iGP Manager are being taken away by this update.
Leagues and racing daily is all well and good, but fundamentally that is limiting. It's enforcing a one size fits all model, which is clear from the varied responses to the decision, isn't the case.
I am fully aware the £10 a month applies per league, not per person. But as the league host I suspect I would be the one who has to fork out the fee on a montly basis. I was not framing it as "everyone has to pay £120 per year" I was stating that to have 52 races per year - once per week, it would cost £120. This burden is probably going to fall on the shoulder of the league host, lest they be forced into the new "ecosystem".
You mention a lower £5 tier - I would love to hear more about that and the options it provides, as that makes the whole thing more manageable. Obviously most players won't pay anything, because they are being put into the new system. I am fully aware that it needs to be a viable long-term business model; I want the game to survive and I want to keep playing it. But there is 0 enjoyment from being forced to race every day either against strangers, or in the current league system where people don't have time to - if people choose and want to, then that's fine. But why should we have to pay so much to keep a status quo?
I get that it makes sense from a business point of view, I just find it pretty devestating that 7 years of work is going to be taken away unless one or all of us are willing to fork out money - because I suspect most won't and we will all quit the game. I would like to understand the position fully and have some sort of negotiation to get to a middle ground that works for the multitude of leagues which do not race every day simply because people don't have time for that, or enjoy the customisation options.
At present, as the league host, it looks like I am going to have to be paying £120 on an annual basis to keep my league going. I already know of leagues similar to mine that shut down immediately after the update earlier this year. I want more than anything to keep the league open after 7 years, I've poured a huge amount of time into the game, and want to continue playing as before.
I think this public forum is leading to some crossed lines and misunderstandings, which I would love to be resolved properly.
CEO & CTO
