Frontier Ending F1 Manager 2022 Support Only Two Months After Launch [Updated]

Update 7:21am 1/11/22: It seems like there was a bit of miscommunication within Frontier as to what was actually happening with updates. The studio has released a clarifying statement on Reddit and the game’s Steam page clarifying the situation. You can read that in full below.

“Hey everyone,

It looks like there are some crossed wires within Frontier in relation to F1 Manager 2022.

To be crystal clear: we will continue to support F1 Manager 2022, with multiple updates currently in the pipeline, focused on addressing the most important topics raised by the community.  

This continues with our upcoming update, which includes a number of changes and improvements, including resolving issues around Estimated Race Time calculations and fuel usage in Qualifying sessions, as well as additional updates, where required, focusing solely on improving your experience and addressing more player reports.

Yesterday’s post was to explain that the addition of any new significant gameplay features for F1 Manager 2022 requested by players would not be possible, but this was not clear.

Everyone on the F1 Manager 2022 team remains focused on further improving the game, and your feedback is the driving force behind that. Thank you for your support, and we’ll be in touch with a status update as soon as possible.”

Original story continues below.

Frontier Developments has announced it is ending post-launch support for its recently released F1 Manager 2022 sports sim less than two months after the game’s release. According to Frontier, the game’s next patch will be its last major update as the studio shuffles staff to “ensure upcoming F1 Manager projects realise their potential”.

F1 Manager 2022, which launched at the end of August, is the first in the studio’s four-game deal with F1. Players take on the role of an Formula 1 team principal and manage every aspect of their team, from factory facilities to staff and on-track strategy.

Though the game’s critical reception was fairly warm, player criticism has focused on certain underdeveloped features and ongoing bugs. There had been hope in the community that many of the more frustrating bugs would be ironed out with post-launch support over the longer term. As reported by Eurogamer last week, it seems that is not to be.

Frontier made the announcement in a post on the game’s official subreddit, stating “This next update for F1 Manager 2022 will be the last significant update that addresses player-reported feedback, or suggested changes and additions. Any potential updates following this would be minor patches that do not noticeably affect gameplay.”

The game’s final major patch will make visual improvements to the game’s car models so that F1 teams can “further differentiate their look.” Also on the docket, Frontier will finally address fuel useage in Qualifying and roll out a fix for the game’s often wildly incorrect Estimated Race Time predictions.

Saying that it is ending post-launch support for F1 Manager 2022 in order to buttress production of upcoming F1 Manager projects, it seems the studio is quickly moving into production on a sequel. There’s still a lot of work that needs to be done on the current game, however, and though Frontier says it will still try to address “key reports and requests” from the community “as we create future iterations in this franchise.”

So it seems, if you have a problem that has gone unsolved in F1 Manager 2022, you may have to wait for the sequel to see any improvements. Whether the community has that kind of patience remains to be seen.