Football MMO revealed

By Robert Purchese Published 25 May, 2007

Create the world's next Pele.

Fresh-faced publishing outfit CyberSports has revealed a new football MMO for PC.

Football SuperStars will be created by Nottingham-based developer Monumental Games, and will let you create and "level-up" your very own soccer star. From there you'll be able to form your own team, much a like a guild, and compete in three, five, seven and 11-a-side matches.

Win and you'll make money and become more successful, improving both your skills on the pitch and your life away from it; swanning around in sarongs or some such.

The website for the game has gone live today, and you can pop over there to register for updates and the forthcoming beta test, which is expected to start around September.

Football SuperStars is pencilled in for a March or April 2008 release, and will be free to play up to a point. But once you get up to the higher-end content and top leagues you should expect to dish out a GBP 5 subscription a month.

'Football MMO revealed' Screenshot concept

Concept art of an early pitch. Similar to Hackney Marshes.

"The MMO is the perfect platform for team sports games," said Malcolm Clark, CEO of CyberSports. "This is the focus that has enabled us to bring authenticity and real competition to a football game for the first time, by playing against real people instead of AI."

Rik Alexander, CEO of Monumental Games, added: "Football SuperStars will capture both the magic of the beautiful game on the pitch and also to bring football lifestyle elements like fame, fortune and glory to the table.

"Football already has great communities and fan bases and we’re hoping to capture that passion and bring it together in a virtual world where players can literally live, breathe and eat football."

Head over to our Football SuperStars gallery for a spattering of concept art, and don't forget that website.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (23) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • macksed #1 5 years ago

    cool

  • kalel #2 5 years ago

    Sounds cool, I really like the idea that you just control your one player, it's like that old MD game.

  • spongebob #3 5 years ago

    Refreshing. What next?

  • Cuke #4 5 years ago

    As cool an idea as it may be, and as interested as I am... surely controlling only one player will result in either a) mad rushes for the ball where people refuse to play 'proper' football, or b) not having as wide a field of vision as you would playing the game for real will make playing a realistic game impossible...

    Didn't Namco fail with a 'control only one player' football game on the PS1 ages ago?

  • Artemis_Matsas #5 5 years ago

    So, how is this "levelling up" is gonna be implemented???

    Will you get tasked by old ladies to kill all the rats from their attics on low levels?

  • superdelphinus #6 5 years ago

    It could be the most popular game of all time if it's good!
    I can imagine that matches with 22 human controlled players will be an absolute shambles though. Who is seriously going to want to be a left back?

  • varsas #7 5 years ago

    I'm not sure that this is going to work very well...

  • Bertie Verified Senior Staff Writer, Eurogamer.net #8 5 years ago

    I'll play it. But only if I can be a left back.

  • WJF #9 5 years ago

    *Football hits Giant Rat for 3 damage. Giant Rat SAVES*
    *Football hits Giant Rat for 3 damage. Giant Rat SAVES*
    *SHOOT power activated*
    *L33t5K1775 SHOOTS and SCORES 6 damage to Giant Rat*
    *Giant Rat concedes life*
    *GOAL! You have advanced to Level 2*

    Only one more level until I can run AND control the ball!

  • The-Bodybuilder #10 5 years ago

    A MMO footy game was always bound.
    I Wish pro evo would have that funtion as well, with the right controls.

    Controlling a single player in behnd-the-back 3rd person will most likel be harder than an engine based on controlling an entire team. After all, we've been doing the latter for over 20 years now.

  • The-Bodybuilder #11 5 years ago

    >"a) mad rushes for the ball where people refuse to play 'proper' football2

    And like in real life, that will end with that teams loosing.....BADLY.
    People would have to learn how play as a team, in thier selective role.

  • The-Bodybuilder #12 5 years ago

    >"Who is seriously going to want to be a left back? "

    People who like being left-backs in real life?
    Ashley Cole (as long as he gets more than 55,000 per week)?

    @ Artemis
    It could work like any other footie, levelling up based on skill, speed, strength, endurance, e.t.c.
    Edited by 1 at 25/05/07 @ 10:22

  • sniglet #13 5 years ago

    "Will you get tasked by old ladies to kill all the rats from their attics on low levels?"

    Basement, surely? :D

    This game sounds like it could be a whole load of awesome. Looking forward to making an un-athletic character with the aim of being a fat goalkeeper who spends games smoking next to the post and drinking Stella from his drinks bottle.

  • superdelphinus #14 5 years ago

    yes yes, clearly what i mean is that you will have several million central midfielders and forwards and about 6 left backs, and other slightly less glamorous positions

  • Nasty #15 5 years ago

    I'm going to focus all my talents and skills on banging soft-porn models/struggling pop stars and selling stories to the Daily Sport.

    Edit: Will it be all men? man2man-cyb0r ftl
    Edited by 1 at 25/05/07 @ 10:55

  • Footyfan #16 5 years ago

    Sounds like a wickeed idea... Hope they pull it off. The web site looks cool...

  • Kelduum #17 5 years ago

    Hmm, I wonder if it will be anything like 'I Play 3-D Soccer' on the old Amiga, but an MMO.

    Fear my powers of videogame trivia!

  • skuzzbag #18 5 years ago

    Exactly. The team that has all attack players and can't resist all running for the ball at once will also be the losing team against good organisation.

    I'm not really bothered about playing it but I think I'd like tickets to some of the games :)

  • The-Bodybuilder #19 5 years ago

    >"yes yes, clearly what i mean is that you will have several million central midfielders and forwards and about 6 left backs, and other slightly less glamorous positions "

    Then do what wenger does.
    Get them with the promise of first team play with thier specific role, then stuff'em in an unchosen position (like left back) and tell them to be "patient".
    If there are many strikers, then there is more competition. Which those that want first team playb may have to be willing to adopt to a new role.

    It all works itself out, just like rea life.

  • The-Bodybuilder #20 5 years ago

    I'd love to create a digital arsenal.
    We'll dominate with so many shots, but with guys like baptista and adebayor, no goals will go on.

    Or better yet, chelsea. Play dull and boring for 89mins, then lampard blasts the ball for it to bounce off everyone in sight, only for drogba to tap it in at the end.

  • Staggan #21 5 years ago

    An MMO football game where you control a single player is already available and is available at [link url=http://www.uni tedfootball.staggan.com
    ]http://www.uni tedfootball.staggan.com
    [/link]

    We are a small UK based developer and have been working on this game and concept for several years. The game is small at the moment but is growing nicely.

    Feel free to take a look and give us your feedback.

    Martyn Hughes
    Staggan Interactive Ltd

  • Mudo #22 5 years ago

    The idea of playing as a single player sounds extremely complex. It would be hard to simulate the awareness and vision an individual player needs without having the game zoomed way out. However, it would then be hard to simulate the skill and timing used at close-quarters against opposition players without the game being zoomed way in.

    I think it might be possible though. I can actually image the view, zoom and controls being fairly similar to FIFA/PES, as well as largeish radar.
    Communication would be absolutely vital - everyone would probably need headsets.

    Proper teams with defenders, midfielders and strikers would certainly fare better than 11 strikers. If everybody charging at the ball was effective, pray tell exactly why Manchester United didn't use this tactic once in their Premiership-winning campaign? Sure, people might start doing that, but proper teams would quickly emerge and rise to the top.

    The one difficult position to fill would probably be goalkeeper, and even then it would be extremely hard to simulate playing as a goalkeeper. Probably not really possible. Maybe the goalkeepers are uniquely NPCs.
    Edited by 1 at 26/05/07 @ 20:46

  • HMAN #23 5 years ago

    Its been announced that the Goalkeepers will be AI controlled and that players won't be locked into specific positions from the start.