Frontier Developments, the studio behind Planet Coaster and Elite Dangerous, has canceled the next installment of the F1 Manager series, F1 Manager 25. According to a report from Eurogamer, the decision was made due to the poor financial performance of the series.
The report cites a studio memo from September, which revealed that the company held discussions with the rights holder of the F1 franchise. As a result of these talks, it was decided to voluntarily terminate the contract for the upcoming game, which was still in development. This game had been previously unknown, but a recent report by investment firm Zeus Capital confirmed that it was F1 Manager 25.
According to the analysis, the F1 Manager series has yet to become profitable for Frontier, unlike the studio’s other successful franchises such as Planet Coaster, Elite Dangerous, Planet Zoo, and Jurassic World Evolution.
Eurogamer’s Tom Phillips notes that this news comes as no surprise. He points out that Frontier’s stock price took a sharp downturn after the release of F1 Manager 22. The launch of F1 Manager 2023 also underperformed, which likely contributed to the studio’s decision to lay off staff in late 2023. It seems that this year’s F1 Manager game failed to make the desired impact in the market.
In April, a media report highlighted significant management issues at the company, including a costly deal with the company holding the rights to Formula 1, which was cited as one of the reasons for Frontier’s struggles. F1 Manager 2024Â would likely have been the last game in the series. As a result, it seems logical that Frontier will now focus on their core franchises. Planet Coaster 2 was recently released, and Jurassic World Evolution 3 is expected to arrive in 2025.
