Planet Coaster and Elite Dangerous developer Frontier looks to have canned its upcoming F1 Manager 25, following poor sales of the franchise.
In September, Frontier said in a financial statement it had held “commercial discussions with an IP partner” that had “resulted in the voluntary termination of a contract for a future game before full development started”.
The identity of that game had previously been kept out of the public eye. Now, however, private analysis from investment research firm Zeus Capital has been shared online, identifying the game in question as F1 Manager 25.
As first reported by Traxion, this analysis claims the F1 Manager series is yet to turn a profit, compared to Frontier’s other profitable franchises Elite Dangerous, Planet Coaster, Planet Zoo and Jurassic World Evolution.
Zeus Capital’s analysis is not intended for public dissemination. However, Eurogamer can verify the information is as reported. We’ve contacted Frontier for comment.
The cancellation of F1 Manager 25 does not come as a huge surprise following the poor performance of the series to date. The studio’s share price tumbled after the release of F1 Manager 2022, and the company was hit by a wave of layoffs in October 2023 following the launch of F1 Manager 23. This year’s F1 Manager 24 also seems to have not made much of an impression.
A report published in April accused Frontier of mismanagement in the wake of the layoffs, and said the company had struggled to handle its expensive, multi-year deal with the F1 brand.
Frontier’s future hopes are pinned on a return to its more traditional management sims, such as the just-released Planet Coaster 2 and the upcoming Jurassic World Evolution 3, which is due next year. A third unannounced management sim is also in production, due to release during its financial year 2027.
