Sports Interactive said back in 2021 that it would bring women's soccer to Football Manager, its long-running simulation franchise. Now, we have a clearer idea of when that will happen. In a blog post that looks at the franchise's future, SI says it will introduce women's teams in Football Manager 2025, which is next year's edition.

The studio initially said it would take a while to bring women's soccer into the fold as it wanted to offer the same level of depth that it does for the men's game. Football Manager has an enormous database of tens of thousands of players, each with individual stats, bios, injury history and so on. Not only that, SI had to account for changes to the attribute systems, gender considerations for translations and different league rules when it comes to women's football.

"The facts are that we’ve made really good progress in many areas, including research, the match engine and translation," SI studio manager Miles Jacobson wrote. "But there are other areas that haven’t made enough advancements, a lot of which are legal issues. The women's game deserves to be the best it possibly can be when it is released."

Alongside the addition of women's teams, Football Manager 2025 will herald a fundamental shift for the series as SI is moving to the Unity game engine. Jacobson says this will "give us a lot more power graphically, across all formats, alongside powerful user interface tools." There will be an entirely new UI and "a significantly better looking matchday experience," while animations are making "a big jump" forward. It'll take a little longer to transition to Unity on mobile, however.

A project to overhaul the underlying tech of Football Manager has been in the works for several years. The initial aim was to revamp the series with Football Manager 2022, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced SI to take a step back and focus on making sure it could release a new version each year.

Elsewhere, Jacobson acknowledged that while FM23 has reached more than 5 million players (by far the most in the series' history after SI introduced Apple Arcade and PS5 versions), some of its features weren't up to scratch. Some of those who play each year's edition may have also been disappointed by having "fewer new features than normal," the studio head noted.

However, SI has expanded its team and it's on track to fully implement FM24's new features faster than usual, leaving more time for polish and bug fixes. One of those updates is well overdue: the option to transfer your progress from FM23 and continue where you left off while benefiting from FM24's upgrades. Even though SI will move to a new game engine next year, the studio plans to let players take their FM24 saves into FM25 as well.

"This is especially good for those playing via Game Pass and Apple Arcade who, by subscribing to those platforms, would lose access to their career shortly after the new game is released," Jacobson wrote. "This has been unavoidable to date due to the expiry of our licenses which require us to remove titles from platforms upon conclusion. We’re still working out the finer details with the platform holders, but the idea is that you’ll be able to seamlessly move from FM23 to FM24 on those platforms and continue your save or start a new one."

For nearly eight years, Joe Tung was responsible for leading development on Riot’s hit MOBA, League of Legends. At the end of 2020, he left the company to cofound Theorycraft Games. Since then, the studio, which employs people who contributed to League, Valorant, Overwatch, the Halo series, Destiny and Apex Legends, has been quietly working away on its first project, a game codenamed Project Loki. Before today, only a handful of content creators and pro-gamers have had the chance to play Loki. That’s about to change, with Theorycraft announcing a two-day PC playtest that will start tomorrow, June 29th.

Theorycraft describes Project Loki as a squad-based hero battleground. Imagine a game that has MOBA-like heroes who need to nail skill shots to perform their best. Now, instead of pitting those characters against one another on a map with minion lanes and towers, you force them to fight on a large, Fortnite-inspired battleground. That’s the pitch of Project Loki, and the studio hopes it turns out to be the next game you decide to spend 10,000 hours playing with your friends. One thing Tung, whose past credits also include Halo: Reach, says is a core part of Project Loki is player creativity. Each session starts with you and your teammates choosing a group of heroes you think will win you the match, and will need to adapt your strategies on the fly.

Tung says Theorycraft Games is a “small and very independent game studio,” but it has the backing of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, which took part in the company’s $50 million series B fundraising round last year. In other words, there’s a lot of money riding on the bet that Theorycraft can create the next LoL or Apex Legends. Expect to hear more about the game in the weeks and months ahead. You can sign up to playtest Project Loki on Theorycraft's website. 

Roku just made its first live sports deal, and it may be welcome news if you're a motorsports fan. The company has struck a deal to stream 11 Formula E races for free through The Roku Channel, beginning with the next season. You'll also find on-demand videos like race previews, replays and the "Unplugged" documentary. The channel is available through Roku hardware, the web and dedicated mobile apps.

This isn't strictly an exclusive. Paramount+ will simulcast five Formula E races alongside CBS. The offering will be available starting in January 2024. Formula E media chief Aarti Dabas sees both the Roku and Paramount+ deals as ways to "dramatically increase" exposure to the race series, particularly in the US.

This isn't on par with Formula 1 or other major sports deals. However, it significantly expands the range of content available through Roku's ad-supported service. The Roku Channel initially launched with a focus older movies and shows, but has since added premium subscriptions, originals and live TV. Now, it has a chance to attract sports fans.

There's plenty of pressure to grow. Numerous other streaming services have their own sports exclusives. Amazon Prime Video streams a limited number of NFL games, while Apple has Friday Night Baseball and MLS Season Pass. Paramount+ already has multiple soccer exclusives. Moreover, ad-supported channels are reaching more platforms — Amazon recently launched its own free TV for Fire devices. Formula E could sustain interest in Roku's hardware and services, especially for viewers who crave live content.

I haven't watched a fight since Manny Pacquiao fought Floyd Mayweather Jr. way back in 2015, but I'd totally tune in if Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg duke it out in front of the camera. And I'm not the only one who would, based on the attention the idea of a fight between the two tech billionaires is getting on social media. 

It all started when Musk reacted to a report about Meta's Twitter rival. Apparently, Meta chief product officer Chris Cox said the company has "been hearing from creators and public figures who are interested in having a platform that is sanely run." Someone told him to be careful, because Zuckerberg does jiu jiutsu now. "I’m up for a cage match if he is," Musk responded. As The Verge reports, Zuckerberg posted a screenshot of the exchange as a story on his Instagram account with the note: "Send Me Location."

Zuckerberg has been training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu for around a year now, and his efforts have been well-documented — he even competed in a tournament back in May and won gold and silver medals. As for Musk, he said he has a great move called "The Walrus" where he just lies on top of the opponent and does nothing. His proposed venue for the fight? The UFC Octagon in Las Vegas. 

Since Musk Vs. Zuckerberg will be the main event, Engadget editors have a few suggestions for undercard matches. Satya Nadella Vs. Sundar Pichai would be almost as interesting to see, especially now that Bing has finally become part of the conversation, thanks to its AI chatbot. And then there's Snap CEO Evan Spiegel and Instagram head Adam Mosseri, who can take their mobile-first services' rivalry to the octagon. Since both Musk and Zuckerberg are looking for ways to monetize their platforms, the smart thing to do is to broadcast the event as pay-to-view live streams on Twitter Blue and Meta Verified. Of course, these are imaginary fights that will most likely not happen, but we're expecting a juicy check as thanks for our ideas if they do. 

"Basically, we're not planning a distinct sequel at all."

Dan Greenawalt, GM of the Forza series, has been working on Motorsport games for two decades, but his remarks in a post-Xbox Showcase briefing on Sunday suggest this next release could be the last in the series. Forza Motorsport is the eighth title in Turn 10 Studios' driving sim franchise, and the first new entry in almost half a decade.

Forza has been one of Microsoft’s most reliable first-party properties. Ignoring Playground Games' spinoff Horizon series, the original Xbox had one Forza title, the Xbox 360 had three, and the Xbox One had three. Barring a few launch hiccups, every title has been well-reviewed and the franchise as a whole has sold millions. We’re now in the third year of this console generation, and there’s been no Motorsport game for fans to play.

A lot’s changed since Forza Motorsport 7 arrived in September 2017. The “day one with Game Pass” paradigm shift started with Sea Of Thieves in 2018, and has since become Microsoft’s entire business model. Now, Microsoft measures success more like a social network (or a tech news publication), focusing on monthly active users and playtime, rather than sales.

It should come as no surprise, then, that Forza Motorsport is set up more like a service game than a traditional AAA title.

While many of the modes that Forza players expect, especially the online multiplayer component, are being reworked and improved, Turn 10 is betting that its new career mode will keep players coming back week after week. At Summer Game Fest, the game’s creative director Chris Esaki talked a group of journalists through this new career-mode loop and the shift in philosophy for the series.

Esaki described Forza Horizon as “a whole new take on falling in love with cars.” We saw a career mode event called the Builders Cup, which began with a narrated showcase of a trio of cars. After picking one to roll with, you then head into “open practice,” where you get to know the car. These sessions are packed full of stats and challenges; you earn Car Experience Points (CXP) for every corner you take, and the closer to perfection you are the more CXP you’ll get. CXP is specific to each car, and is used to upgrade parts and customize vehicle performance.

After open practice, you head into a race, where there’s a new “challenge the grid” system that lets you essentially bet against your racing talent. You choose where on the grid to start and how fast your AI opponents are, with higher rewards as the difficulty scales up. After competing in the race itself, you’ll earn money for new vehicles as well as more of the car-specific CXP. Then it’s onto the next open practice, more tuning and customization, and more races.

Esaki calls this loop “level, build, dominate.” He sees it as a way to get players interested in a broad swathe of cars, rather than having them head straight to a Ferrari or Bugatti. That might sound like the ethos of another popular racing sim, but while there are definitely elements of Gran Turismo 7’s cups and café challenges in here, the Builders Cup feels both more contained and more repeatable. It’s all by design: Similar to recent Forza Horizon games, players can expect a big content update monthly, which then rolls out week-by-week.

We’ll likely hear much more about Forza Motorsport in the lead up to its release on October 10th, and I’m interested to try out the new simulation features, like a massively overhauled physics system and improved opponent AI. For now, though, the pitch seems solid. I’m a huge fan of Gran Turismo 7, but if you don’t enjoy online sim racing and the toxicity that comes with it, its single-player experience is fairly threadbare. In contrast, Turn 10 seems to have developed Forza Motorsport as a game that will last forever, with new experiences every week designed to satiate gamers’ desire for fresh races and Microsoft’s desire for monthly active users.

Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest right here!

If you never thought that Formula 1 and pro golf could go together, Netflix begs to differ. The streaming service is said to be in talks to livestream its first ever sporting event, a celebrity golf tournament featuring F1 drivers and professional golfers, according to The Wall Street Journal. It would reportedly feature personalities from Full Swing and Drive to Survive, Netflix documentaries that follow F1 drivers and pro golfers. Talks are still preliminary, according to the WSJ.

A celebrity golf event would be a low-stakes way for Netflix to work out a format and solve any technical issues that could occur in future live sports events. It famously messed up a livestream of its Love is Blind reality show, with technical problems causing an hour-long outage, though its first live stream event, a Chris Rock comedy special, went smoothly.

The company may have also noticed the popularity of golf YouTube channels like Rick Shiels and Bob Does Sports. Those often feature top-echelon pros like Max Homa playing rounds and competing with average players, trash talking and swearing like the rest of us do while playing golf. A similar format, with F1 drivers and players competing but also having fun, could draw in casual viewers that would otherwise never watch golf — much like Full Swing did. 

Netflix has supposedly been exploring live sports streaming for more than a year. It previously bid for live US streaming rights to Formula 1, but reportedly lost out to ESPN. It has also supposedly explored bidding on rights for tennis, cycling and other lower-profile sports. 

Earlier this year, co-CEO Ted Sarandos said "we aren't anti-sports, we're pro-profit," implying that Netflix doesn't think the costs for sports rights make economic sense. At the same time, he said the company was leaving the possibility open. Meanwhile, rivals like Amazon Prime Video have streamed live sports for years from leagues including the NFL, Major League Baseball, ATP, Premiere League and more. 

On Monday, it was Ubisoft's turn to take center stage at Summer Game Fest. After Microsoft's strong showing on Sunday, the publisher's showcase was a more sedate affair, with Ubisoft mostly providing updates on games that it had already been previously announced. 

However, the event did have its share of highlights. One surprise announcement saw Castlevania showrunner Adi Shankar take the stage in a seriously ridiculous getup to reveal Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix, an animated series based, of all things, on Far Cry 3's Blood Dragon expansion from 2013. After years of development, Ubisoft also offered a first look at Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. But the star of the show was undoubtedly the first gameplay trailer Massive Entertainment shared for its upcoming Star Wars project, Outlaws. The 10-minute clip offered a comprehensive look at what Star Wars fan can expect from the open world title in 2024. If you missed any part of the presentation, our video summary will catch you up in less than 14 minutes.   

Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest right here!

Season five of Overwatch 2 will arrive on Tuesday, bringing with it updates such as a mythic skin for Tracer, a fantasy theme and a fresh limited-time game mode. However, it feels like a bit of a placeholder as Blizzard is already looking forward to the sixth season, which starts on August 10th.

The studio is calling this the biggest update to Overwatch 2 yet. It'll be called Overwatch 2: Invasion and it will include co-op story missions. Long-promised hero missions, which were going to feature long-term progression features for all heroes, are no longer happening.

At the outset, there will be three story missions you can tackle with your friends or other players. You'll be taking on Null Sector, which is destroying cities and abducting innocent Omnics (robots that are living alongside humans following a war). Null Sector has formidable opponents at its disposal, including "the powerful Annihilators and the deadly Stalkers." 

There will be a separate co-op mission in season six, as Blizzard will open up new parts of the Kings Row map that aren't accessible in the competitive modes. You'll "guide the TS-1 push bot on a mission to save Tracer’s friend and the Omnic Underworld from Null Sector forces," according to an Xbox blog post. This time around, the robot will have its own weapons.

Meanwhile, Blizzard has revealed some details about Flashpoint, a new core game mode for player vs. player (PvP) modes such as quick play, competitive and the arcade. At the outset, there will be two maps, which are the largest PvP ones to date. Flashpoint will feature multiple capture points. The aim is to capture three of them before the enemy team does. Once a point is secured, the next one will open up. 

On top of that, Blizzard divulged more about the previously teased Hero Mastery mode. This is a single-player affair that will challenge you to tackle training courses with certain heroes. You'll need to have a solid grasp of a character's weapons and abilities to do well here. You'll be able to see how you measure up against other players on a leaderboard. Hero Mastery courses for some characters will be available in Overwatch 2: Invasion, with more to come in future seasons. 

There will also be another way for you to sharpen your skills without switching to Aim Lab, as the practice range is getting a firing range. You'll be able to practice with any hero and customize the settings.

Last but not least, Blizzard is trying to entice Game Pass Ultimate members to check out Overwatch 2 with a fresh perk. Starting on August 10th, subscribers will be able to instantly unlock the five most recent heroes (Sojourn, Junker Queen, Kiriko, Ramattra and Lifeweaver) as well as the next addition to the lineup without having to shell out for the premium battle pass, complete in-game challenges or pay for the characters in the in-game store. You'll also get a legendary skin and other cosmetics for each of those heroes as part of the New Heroes Starter Pack.

Speaking of the next hero, who will be a support, there was a brief tease of them at the end of the trailer. They have a cape and a large weapon, but we'll need to wait a bit longer to learn more about them, their backstory and their abilities

The Overwatch 2: Invasion trailer is a fresh spark of hope for the game after the disappointing news that Blizzard downsized its player vs. environment ambitions. There'll be a bigger focus on story and lore going forward. In the meantime, as a Mei main, I'm looking forward to her becoming more of a menace in season five thanks to her being able to further slow enemies down.

Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest right here!

Modern electric vehicles aren't very practical for endurance races due to the long charging times, but Toyota may have an alternative. Its Gazoo Racing unit has unveiled a GR H2 Racing Concept that's designed to compete in the Le Mans 24 Hours race's new hydrogen car category. The automaker isn't divulging specs, but the appeal is clear: this is an emissions-free car that can spend more time racing and less time topping up.

Toyota doesn't say if or when a race-ready GR H2 will hit the track. The machine is built for "future competition," the brand says. Don't be surprised if Toyota refines the concept before bringing it to a Le Mans race.

The company is no stranger to low- and zero-emissions motorsports. The brand has been racing a hydrogen engine Corolla in Japan's Super Taikyu Series since 2021, and its GR010 hybrid hypercar took the top two overall podium spots at last year's Le Mans. A purpose-built hydrogen car like the GR H2 is really an extension of the company's strategy.

The announcement comes at a delicate moment for Toyota. The make is shifting its focus to EVs after years of resisting the segment in favor of hybrids and hydrogen cars. At the same time, new CEO Koji Sato wants to be sure hydrogen remains a "viable option." The GR H2 may be a hint as to how Toyota tackles this dilemma: it can keep using hydrogen in categories where fast stops are important, such as racing and trucking, while courting a passenger car market that insists on EVs like the bZ4X and Lexus RZ.

Between the likes of Skate, Skate Story and OlliOlli World, we're in the midst of a renaissance of skateboarding games. Helskate looks like it's going in a different direction from many of them. It uses skateboarding as a foundation for monster slaying.

In this project from Phantom Coast, you'll make your way through the hellscape of Vertheim with arcade-style skating. You'll power up attacks by pulling off combos, and unlock abilities and buffs as you progress. Ultimately, you'll need to battle the Gods of Skating. You'll need to conquer a score challenge to defeat one and grind up another to target its weak points.

Since this is a roguelite, some progress will carry over when you die, but otherwise you'll be starting again. You'll be able to put together a unique build for each run by combining weapons, gear and tapes. Permanent ability upgrades come in the form of tattoos, which is a neat touch.

In case you're concerned that the skateboarding aspect might not live up to other titles in the genre, the fact that veteran designer Steve Swink is leading the team may sate your concerns. Swink has some previous experience in that domain, having designed one of the levels in Tony Hawk's Underground.

In any case, Helskate made a solid first impression. The action looks fast paced and it has some slick visuals. It brings to mind Hades as well as the fantastic Rollerdrome, which requires players to pull off rollerblading tricks to refill their ammo.

We'll need to wait a while longer to see if Helskate can meet the heady heights of those other games. It's slated to hit Steam early access in early 2024.