A new official F1 management simulator, F1 Manager 2022, is set to launch on August 30 — with early access starting August 25 — for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.
The title is, as the name suggests, a Football Manager-esque look at the world of Formula One. Officially recognized by F1, the game includes all the drivers and teams of the current 2022 F1 season, along with F2 and F3.
If the name and concept sounds familiar, that’s because an official F1 management title called F1 Manager launched in 2019. That game, which rebranded in 2021 to F1 Clash (and now we know why), was developed for mobile platforms by Hutch, whereas this is a full-fat affair for current consoles (and PC) created by Frontier Developments.
F1 Manager 2022 will see players become the boss of one of the ten official F1 teams on the 2022 grid. You’ll need to manage your finances, cars, and staff ahead of each race day, and then you’ll be on the pit wall to take charge of strategies and incidents during the race itself.
Players will need to stay on top of the various departments at their headquarters, building and upgrading their facilities to help with driver prep and car research. You can also scout and recruit staff from other teams to help with your plans.
The car itself will also need to be developed, and you can oversee the design of new parts and how they’re assigned to the cars. If your car is underperforming in one area you can focus on that, or press an advantage you have in another.
You’ll also need to manage your drivers during the race, with a full live broadcast featuring F1 22-style visuals using Unreal Engine rather than the isometric look of F1 Clash, with recorded commentary from David Croft and Karun Chandhok — hopefully not hawking Sky Glass in the process.
As the seasons progress you’ll be able to develop your facilities and staff further, and as characters — particularly the drivers — retire, you can pick up fresh new talent from F2 and F3. The game even generates new NPCs to replace those leaving the sport.
You can pre-order the game today, with five days early access starting on August 25 for those who buy the digital version — and a 10% discount too. It’ll be available on August 30 for everyone else, on PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One/Series, and PC via Steam.
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