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Get ready for a 'Football Manager' movie
When their dreams of growing up to become a footballer don't materialise, many Brits turn to a career in football management. Deciding not to earn their UEFA badges, gamers past and present have grabbed a copy of Sports Interactive's Football Manager (formerly Championship Manager) in a bid to take Woking from the Conference to the Champions League in six seasons. The game's popularity has seen its player database become a bona-fide tool for helping Premiership clubs scout future recruits, and soon it'll make its debut on the big screen. According to Sports Interactive, An Alternative Reality: The FM Documentary is a feature length film that investigates the game's effect on the world's most popular sport. It'll head to a minimum of 26 Vue cinemas throughout the UK on October 7th for one night only, after which it'll find its way online. If you've always wanted to become part of Football Manager folklore, the game's creators will add one luckily cinemagoer to the next instalment of the franchise, which launches in November.
Square Enix invites Championship Manager into the MMO club
The incredibly popular football (read: soccer) video game franchise Championship Manager is about ready to take the jump into MMO-space -- and Square Enix will be there to hold its hand all the way. The studio announced today that it will be publishing Championship Manager: World of Football, a free-to-play browser-based title for sports fanatics. Developed by Beautiful Game Studios and Shanda Games, Championship Manager will initially launch in China with a possible international release later down the road. A beta for the title is to be announced shortly. This is a further indication of the shape of the partnership between Square Enix and Shanda Games, which we reported on last year. The Championship Manager franchise dates back to 1992, with recent versions created by Beautiful Game Studios.
Square Enix makes cuts to Beautiful studio
In a statement made yesterday, Square Enix revealed plans to restructure Beautiful Game Studios, the team responsible for the Championship Manager franchise -- a plan resulting in "unavoidable job losses." Square Enix's aim is to "re-focus" its vision in order to "build a successful commercial future" for the European football management series. Square Enix notes job cuts will occur before Christmas. According to Develop, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada hinted that shuffling would occur at Eidos' London offices during a keynote at the Montreal International Games Summit last week. It is unclear if Beautiful Game Studios -- which is located at the London office -- is a small piece of a larger restructure plan. Layoffs just before Christmas? Bah, humbug!
Sequels! Eidos announces more Tomb Raider, Hitman, Just Cause
Rest easy, there will be more Tomb Raider, more Hitman, and another Just Cause. And just 'cause, Eidos has also confirmed that a new edition of its perennial footie sim Championship Manager will hit the pitch for (at least) one more go'round. Although development is currently underway for the follow-up foursome, release dates have yet to be issued. The expected sequels will be joined by Kane & Lynch and Crossfire, new IPs (they still bother with those?), along with Battlestations: Midway, which is due out next month.
