Football Manager 2017 game features 'Brexit effect' storyline
For years football enthusiasts have been able to try their hand at taking charge of their favourite team on Football Manager - but their task may be about to get a whole lot tougher thanks to Brexit.
In Football Manager 2017, players will have to grapple with the complex negotiations of the UK trying to extract itself from the European Union.
The game, which is released at the beginning of November, will explore the options the UK faces, from 'soft' Brexit to 'hard' Brexit.
The 'soft' Brexit storyline will see free movement of workers remain, meaning players can be traded as normal.
The 'hard' Brexit storyline - which even Theresa May has not outlined yet - will see transfers made more difficult so that rules for transferring non-EU football players also apply to EU players.
Miles Jacobson, the head of Sports Interactive, which developed Football Manager, told The Daily Telegraph it "wouldn't have felt right" to leave Brexit out of the game.
"The first option for the game was to have just one scenario and that would be it, Brexit done, but it's not possible to come out with one outcome and it won't be until all the negotiations are done.
"As a result we've decided to go down another route, and have included every possible outcome in the game, using artificial intelligence and percentage chances to make every game different."
After the referendum in the summer, fans were already joking about how Brexit might affect the game.
One games fan, Jimmy Gibson, tweeted: "Thanks guys, you've completely ruined Football Manager. Now I'm gonna have to apply for a work permit for literally everyone."
Another, @mrdjgallagher, tweeted: "The whole Remain campaign should have just been that screen on Football Manager where your wonderkid fails to get a work permit."
For years football enthusiasts have been able to try their hand at taking charge of their favourite team on Football Manager - but their task may be about to get a whole lot tougher thanks to Brexit.
In Football Manager 2017, players will have to grapple with the complex negotiations of the UK trying to extract itself from the European Union.
The game, which is released at the beginning of November, will explore the options the UK faces, from 'soft' Brexit to 'hard' Brexit.
The 'soft' Brexit storyline will see free movement of workers remain, meaning players can be traded as normal.
The 'hard' Brexit storyline - which even Theresa May has not outlined yet - will see transfers made more difficult so that rules for transferring non-EU football players also apply to EU players.
Miles Jacobson, the head of Sports Interactive, which developed Football Manager, told The Daily Telegraph it "wouldn't have felt right" to leave Brexit out of the game.
"The first option for the game was to have just one scenario and that would be it, Brexit done, but it's not possible to come out with one outcome and it won't be until all the negotiations are done.
"As a result we've decided to go down another route, and have included every possible outcome in the game, using artificial intelligence and percentage chances to make every game different."
After the referendum in the summer, fans were already joking about how Brexit might affect the game.
One games fan, Jimmy Gibson, tweeted: "Thanks guys, you've completely ruined Football Manager. Now I'm gonna have to apply for a work permit for literally everyone."
Another, @mrdjgallagher, tweeted: "The whole Remain campaign should have just been that screen on Football Manager where your wonderkid fails to get a work permit."