Soccer Manager 2021 is the newest release in the SM series developed from the house Soccer Manager LTD. The series specializes in producing a realistic football-manager experience for mobile players, similar to that of Football Manager on PC. And GamingonPhone had the chance to hold a Soccer Manager 2021 developer interview with the Dev team of SM21. We asked a range of questions relating to the future plans of the main Soccer Manager series. Also, there were some questions regarding other projects from the developers. So without any further ado, let’s dive into the Soccer Manager 2021 developer interview.
On the future updates and game features
GamingonPhone: What is the roadmap looking like for this season? Are there any new features you are looking to add through throughout the stage of this season?
Dev Team: SM21 will see regular updates throughout the season, roughly once a month. This will include the most up-to-date data for the game. We also have some new features to add that didn’t quite make it into launch. The development cycle begins again shortly and we have a long wishlist that we want to develop for SM22.
GamingonPhone: Aside from the standard career-based mode in SM21, have you ever thought of adding some challenges/scenarios?
Dev Team: Yes! We are currently working on a ‘Challenge Mode’ where Managers have a certain number of seasons to complete a scenario with a Club. This could be getting a smaller Club to the top leagues, avoid relegation or win a competition. These will be designed to be very challenging and each one will come with a unique cut scene if completed successfully.
GamingonPhone: Another mode the community are quite curious to play, is the “Career Mode Draft”, which is popular in Football Manager. Is this something the devs are planning to implement? Could it even be a whole separate game?
Dev Team: We don’t have plans to add this into SM21 but it is definitely on our wishlist for SM22.
GamingonPhone: International management is something that the community is eagerly waiting for. Can we expect to see this in the game?
Dev Team: This will be a key feature for SM22 alongside expanding the selection of countries/leagues and allowing you to move around continents in your manager career.
GamingonPhone: Cutscenes are a nice addition to the realism of the game. Will we see more of this? Such as player transfer cutscenes, contract cutscenes, etc?
Dev Team: Yes there are a few cutscenes we will be adding in for transfers, sponsorship deals, and a couple of other areas. We also have some new goal celebrations to add in the game.
GamingonPhone: The community have noticed that there are not as many roles available in the game as in other football games for mobile. Will you be looking to add some more in the future?
Dev Team: We are constantly improving the tactics and match engine. As this continues to develop we envisage that new roles will be added.
GamingonPhone: One feature the game has been lacking is the introduction of backroom staff. Is this something you will be looking to add soon? If so, how soon?
Dev Team: Again this will be in SM22, we already have scouts but we aim to introduce coaches and assistant managers with names and attributes, making that area of the game more in depth. Expanding on the AI managers will also be a feature of SM22, allowing them to be sacked and moving clubs.
GamingonPhone: With the current state of the world surrounding the pandemic, the real world of football has changed a lot. Will we see a change like this in SM21? For example, no fans in stadiums, lower budget teams, etc.?
Dev Team: No we don’t have plans for this, we try and keep the game slightly abstracted from real-world events.
GamingonPhone: The release of SM21 has not seen many major improvements to the transfer system, specifically the type of transfers available and the details in the contracts. What big features have you got planned for this section?
Dev Team: There have been lots of changes to the transfer system this year. Player valuations are now dynamic and increase or decrease based on the players form and if they have any concerns. Players can refuse to leave your club for a variety of reasons, reflecting real life player power. Other clubs are a lot more active in the transfer market and try to strengthen their squads over the seasons.
However, we will be improving this for SM22 adding a lot more options in like player swaps, detailed contracts with clauses and options.
About other games in the Soccer Manager series
GamingonPhone: We have seen how SM21 has not been released on PC, like its predecessors. Is this something you plan on doing or is the Soccer Manager expected to be mobile-exclusive from now?
Dev Team: A release on Steam is planned in the coming months, we will announce a date in the next few weeks.
GamingonPhone: Is Soccer Manager the only game series you plan on developing? Or are there some other projects going on for a separate game, that isn’t Soccer Manager?
Dev Team: We are due to make an announcement on our sister game Soccer Manager Worlds in the coming weeks, which is our online multiplayer game, and we have big plans to redevelop that game over the next 12 months.
GamingonPhone: Football Manager is the popular PC game that appears to be one of the major pieces of inspiration for Soccer Manager. Do you visualize Soccer Manager as essentially being Football Manager on mobile?
Dev Team: Football Manager is a fantastic game and we all grew up playing Championship Manager and its successors. However, we feel that that game has grown very complicated over the years. We aim to focus a more simple (but in depth) game on mobile that is free to play.
GamingonPhone: Football is of course, one of the most popular sports in the world. However, have you ever thought of releasing a game that isn’t football?
Dev Team: We are all big football fans and that’s what we know and love! We don’t have plans to deviate away from that at the moment, there’s so much more to add into the SM series over the coming years!
We hope you find this Soccer Manager 2021 developer interview helpful. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to drop them in the comment section below.
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