Electronic Arts (EA) has announced that it has shelved plans to release any future titles in the FIFA Manager series, due to strong competition.
Gerald Köhler, founder and designer at Bright Future, explained in an open letter that FIFA Manager 14 will be the last instalment in the series.
"The football manager genre at this level of sophistication is highly specialised and primarily played in two countries (England and Germany), in which - on top of everything - one game has practically dominated the market in recent years. The niche market and general trend toward online and mobile games were also contributing factors," Köhler explained.
"FM had reached a crossroads at which a new engine and/or corresponding online technology would be the only way to give the series a boost. When all these factors were evaluated, it led us to the decision to blow the final whistle," he added.
Köhler also thanked fans, community and added that, "the fan sites will go all out to expand and improve the game wherever they can."
The game has more than 1,000 licensed clubs, more than 35,000 players and more than 70 licensed leagues.
The FIFA Manager series started with FIFA Soccer Manager released in 1997 and continued till 2013.
SEGA's Football Manager is the rival for EA's FIFA Manager, and the latter has now officially accepted defeat to SEGA.
FIFA Manager 14 was released on 25 October 2013 for PC and SEGA's Football Manager 2014 was released on 30 October 2013 for PC, Mac, Linux. Football Manager 2014 was also released for iOS and Android devices on 14 November.
