F1 Manager 2025 is Rumored to Be Canceled. Developers Allegedly Abandoned Formula 1 License Due to Low Profit
It looks like the future of the F1 Manager series has been determined in Frontier Developments' latest financial report. The 2025 installment was apparently canceled, as 2024 didn't sell well enough.
It has long been known that the F1 Manager series from Frontier Developments studio has not – or rather has not had – an easy life. The first installment, 2022, ended in a scandalous atmosphere due to very limited support after the launch, and the second one, 2023, faced an uphill battle because of a modest set of new features and a high price. In both cases, the results were reports of disappointing sales results.
F1 Manager 2025 canceled?
It seemed that the series had a chance to get back on track thanks to F1 Manager 2024, which was significantly cheaper and introduced the most desired feature by players (the ability to create your own Formula 1 team). However, it appears that consumer-friendly moves haven't been converted into financial success. In its latest financial report, Frontier Developments included the following information:
[…] commercial discussions with an IP partner resulted in the voluntary termination of a contract for a future game before full development started.
There is no mention of F1 Manager, but the financial services group Zeus Capital later obtained confirmation that it was indeed about this series (via traxxion.gg):
The company [Frontier Developments] has confirmed [this] relates to F1 Manager 2025 that would have been released in FY26 [calendar year 2025] […].
Interestingly, the original deal, announced in 2020, was to release four games under an "exclusive" Formula 1 license (i.e. exclusive in the context of management games; it didn't affect the racing series from Codemasters), so the 2025 installment would most likely have been the last one anyway.
F1 Manager 2024 with major 1.9 update
To wipe away our tears, we have a freshly released major update for F1 Manager 2024. Update 1.9 introduced several new features, including starting races in the pit lane, the ability to direct drivers' focus towards specific development areas (such as improving the racing car), and reports on transfer market activities, providing an opportunity to acquire "hot commodities" before rivals do. Furthermore, recruiting staff is now facilitated by additional information about whether a given person fits into the team.
Who knows if the developer originally didn't intend to keep these innovations specifically in mind for the canceled continuation...
