A yearly release franchise, Frontier Developments has announced F1 Manager 23, set for release this summer. With greater depth and new modes, can this second edition improve enough over the previous title?
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A short peak in popularity defined the first edition of the F1 Manager series last year. Whilst the game’s release saw plenty of excitement, interest dropped swiftly thereafter.
But with F1 Manager 23 bound for release this summer, Frontier Developments will be hoping to retain its player base for longer. Announced last night, the new game will incorporate greater management detail and new game modes in a bid to keep fans interested.
New F1 Manager 23 Mode
The main complaint fans had of the 2022 F1 Manager game was its lack of variety. The game was a repetitive cycle of upgrading one’s car and competing in races. The career was all the game offered which made it difficult to play for short periods of time with a more relaxed mindset.
Hopefully with the headlining addition to the 2023 iteration of the franchise this will change. A new game mode is coming to the game; Race Replay. This sees players take the helm of a team in a single, pivotal race during the real F1 World Championship.
The first race of the year in Bahrain would be a fantastic example of this in the case of McLaren. With both cars starting at the back of the field, a challenge would be to achieve a better result than the team did in real life. This gives fans of the sport the opportunity to rewrite the season as it happens.
F1 Manager 23: Management Improvements
Additionally to the new game mode, F1 Manager 23 will get plenty of new management mechanics furthering the game’s depth. These will make certain elements of car development and staff recruitment that bit more crucial for those with hopes of winning the Formula One World Championship.
In this second edition of the franchise, staff recruitment won’t just be limited to one’s drivers. Sporting Directors in the new game provide greater control over the pit crew. Different Sporting Directors will prepare the mechanics in different ways; some may push for the fastest pitstop times, others may keep to the cautious side of things.
How much you’re willing to risk when it comes to competing for the Fastest Pitstop Award will determine the number of mistakes seen over a race weekend.
Aside from the Sporting Director, F2 and F3 drivers will also play a more important role in the game. With fully simulated seasons of these feeder series, players will be able to sign young talent as they improve their race craft and speed. Fast-track a driver to F1 or wait for them to mature, the decision is yours.
Drivers can get emotional in the real world and this is something Frontier Developments is pushing with F1 Manager 23. Mistakes throughout a weekend will hurt a driver’s confidence. This is something that, as a team manager, you will have to manage. Keep your drivers’ spirits high in a bid to continue challenging for results.
Finally, car development will be more in-depth this year. Last year’s game saw few downsides to development with speed coming at the cost of extra money. This year’s release will see reliability rear its head. Push too hard for speed without thinking about the consequences and your car will suffer afflictions such as were seen in the second McLaren-Honda era. Car development will be all about finding the balance between going fast and getting to the end of a race.
F1 Manager 23 Release Date
F1 Manager 23 releases this summer on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series S and X. It is available to add to wish lists on both Steam and the Epic Store. Further features and announcements concerning the game are sure to come out between now and release. So be sure to stay up to date with all the news.
Are you looking forward to F1 Manager 23? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
