Formula 1 has struck a multi-year deal with Frontier Developments for a series of management games for both PC and consoles with the first to be released in 2022.
The deal runs from 2022 and lasts for four seasons, meaning the final game will be based on the 2025 season.
Frontier Developments’ most recent games include Planet Coaster and Planet Zoo, spiritual successors to the Rollercoaster Tycoon and Zoo Tycoon series, as well as Jurassic World Evolution which tasks you to manage your own dinosaur park.
In the 1990s management games were a staple of Formula 1’s licensed games output, with the best received amongst those being the Grand Prix Manager series and later Grand Prix World.
The most recently released PC based F1 management game was simply called F1 Manager and was based off the 1999 Formula 1 season.
More recently the concept has been revived with Hutch Game’s free to play F1 Manager app being released last year.
Formula E has recently dipped its toe in the management game scene by partnering up with Playsport Games for the recently released Motorsport Manager Online. The game features the Gen2 car along with all of the drivers from the 2019-20 season.
It’s unclear yet which of the previous management games this new franchise will most closely resemble, but Frank Arthofer, Director of Digital and Licensing at Formula 1 promises: “this new manager franchise will allow fans to experience the challenging management aspects of the sport through immersive simulation games, and make that experience as accessible as possible for a broad audience.”
