Football Manager’s outstanding average playtime proves it’s more of a hobby than a regular game

Football Manager is one of those games that just grips you and doesn’t let you go. It’s rare that such a statement can be backed up by actual facts, but this is one of those exceptions. After hearing about some Football Manager 2022 playtime numbers, to say they are convincing would be an understatement.

Dot Esports recently spoke with Sports Interactive managing director Miles Jacobson about many subjects, such as Erling Haaland’s successful recreation in Football Manager 2023. Among our topics was Football Manager’s general place in the gaming world and the specific way it is being consumed by its audience.

Here is how Jacobson describes his studio’s creation:

“Football Manager is an escape from the real world. I’m really lucky. I love my job. 90 percent of the people in the world don’t like their job. They don’t like going to school. FM just lets you escape from that and into a parallel universe where you are a football manager. That’s what Career mode brings. Fantasy Draft and Versus are for showing off to your mates, playing against each other in a competitive space. We cover things for most audiences. If you look at our PC game last year, the average playtime was 300 hours. That shows it’s more of a hobby than a game. Even the playtimes on Xbox were huge as well.”

The numbers shared by Jacobson are truly staggering. An average playtime of 300 hours on PC means that many players likely went way above that number. This is a feat very few games can accomplish regardless of their genre, but it’s particularly impressive for a predominantly single-player experience as the one presented by Football Manager. So much time spent on the virtual bench is indeed crossing the boundary between simple gaming and a full-time hobby.

That last bit about Xbox is encouraging, too. The Football Manager series was absent from the Xbox platform for many years before finally making a return with Football Manager 2021. The fact playtime on the console is apparently high in just the second entry since the series’ comeback is proof that Xbox players are just as thirsty for that soccer management form of escape from the real world.

If you are one of those players who contributed to the high average playtime of Football Manager 2022, you certainly can’t wait for the next entry in the series. And the good news is the wait is nearly over. Football Manager 2023 is launching worldwide on Nov. 8, 2022.