Football seasons might be drawing to an end across the world, but while that might mean less time spent watching actual players on your TV, it also means far more time spent watching virtual players on your PC instead. That’s great news for Football Manager, which, according to studio director Miles Jacobson, continues to go from strength to strength.
In a recent tweet, Jacobson said that this time last year, “there were just over 50,000 of you playing Football Manager 2018 via Steam.” Those are decent numbers, enough to keep the game well inside the current top ten on Valve’s platform (yesterday, the game peaked at sixth, a little behind Rainbow Six Siege, and was the only single-player game in the chart). Since last year, however, those figures have grown significantly.
Yesterday, Jacobson wrote that “as I type, there are 70,241 of you playing Football Manager 2019 via Steam. Great to see so many people continuing to enjoy it. It’s our fastest selling PC game ever & our most played by average at this time.”
While the player count itself isn’t likely to set the world on fire, particularly in comparison to some of the other games on that list, the figures do represent some impressive growth. Year-on-year, the new numbers represent a 40% increase in players, which shows some pretty decent momentum.
A year ago today there were just over 50,000 of you playing #FM18 via Steam.
As I type, there are 70,241 of you playing #FM19 via Steam.
Great to see so many people continue to enjoy it. It's our fastest selling PC game ever & our most played by average at this time.#FMSundays— Miles Jacobson (@milesSI) May 19, 2019
There are multiple factors that have likely helped that growth along. In his Football Manager 2019 review, Dave said that Sports Interactive’s latest outing was the best the series had ever been on the day of a new release.
Read more: Football Manager 2019’s default female character is the stuff of nightmares
Of course, it could also be that real-life football managers say they used the series’ earlier entries to help hone their craft. Or maybe it’s part of the latest game’s proactive approach to video refereeing technology, which football as a whole is embarrassingly slow on the uptake of compared to basically everything else (seriously, Cricket has had Hawk-Eye since 2001). Or maybe it’s just that Football Manager both scratches an oh-so-delightful itch, allowing you to maintain an air of superiority while you boss you little men around from the comfort of your desk, while also consistently nailing every release. Who can truly say?