With the news that EA-published and Codemasters-developed racing series F1 would be forgoing F1 26 to focus on a two-year cycle for F1 27, fans are excited about what this could mean for the sports series. What’s worth considering is the way this game could have a larger impact on the entire annual sports game landscape.
What are the possible side effects of a highly successful launch or an absolute failure to get off the line? We’ve looked at some key considerations and the ramifications on the industry of the various ways F1 27’s release could play out.
Fan Expectations Will Be Elevated
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Longer development cycles are something players have been calling for across many series, and delivering on that has the potential to go well for Codemasters. However, it will also come with increased pressure to deliver. The desire for more time between releases is not just about players not having to put out the cost of a full new game every year; it’s also about the quality of the game being delivered.
Many players will express their complete willingness to spend each year if the games they were receiving in responses seemed to be worth the cost. Gamers want not just updated rosters but also improvements across the board. This means improved in-game controls and enhancements to game modes, with editions continually evolving to become better and better, as well as the inclusion of new features and modes for players to enjoy.
With two years of development, players are likely to be even less receptive if the game that ultimately hits shelves is just more of the same without meaningful improvements to F1 25. All you need to look at to understand the risk that also comes with delivering on a longer cycle is check out the response to Football Manager 26.
The popular management sim switched from a proprietary engine to Unity, a move which ultimately led to the cancellation of Football Manager 25. While the longer wait for a game left fans eagerly anticipating this year’s edition, the game arrived with an abnormally large number of bugs, with the game’s top Twitch streamer, Zealand Shannon, going so far as to label the game a big beta for FM 27, even while also saying he’s enjoying his time with the game. Many other fans have been even less charitable, and F1 27 will need to deliver as a polished and fun game to avoid similar complaints.
2026 Will Test Players Receptiveness To A Roster Update-Only Approach
Referring to sports games as roster updates is a popular pejorative in the sports gaming world, with gamers often left feeling like developers did not do enough to justify a new game and instead simply did some cosmetic changes and updated who is on which team. With F1 25 in 2026, we will be getting a different use, one that should be a positive development for the gaming community, as Codemasters will be updating the game when next season’s new driver lineup debuts.
Whether this actually proves enough to keep fans interested in the game and playing it for an entire extra year is to be seen. If forced to bet on how it would go down, signs point to players being more than happy to keep enjoying the game while waiting for next year’s hopefully game-changing update.
This is where the history of sports games not offering massive overhauls works to Codemasters’ benefit. For the most part, there are no massive differences in a given F1 game and the next year’s release. This means that fans are already fairly adjusted to the game being very similar from year to year, with only the surrounding aesthetics being changed to reflect a new year.
With it coming as a free update, instead of a full-price game, this update-only approach should be much easier for gamers to accept, particularly in the early stages when news on FM 27 is still scarce, so there is no strong reason to be concerned about what’s to come after the two-year wait. Optimism on what a longer cycle can do for the franchise should make a free roster update much easier to accept as the full change for 2026.
Insufficient Progress Could Reinforce Or Hinder Attempts To Move Past Annual Releases
The outcome that would come with the most uncertainty would be if F1 27 arrives and ultimately feels no different than any other annual release in the series. If the game has a little more polish but lacks meaningful improvements or new elements that fans will expect across a double development cycle, it could go one of two ways.
The former is for it leads to an even greater call for more time between releases. A longer gap in production cycles can certainly lead to enthusiasm around a game’s release, as the College Football series’ relaunch showed. While the initial game was a smash hit among fans excited to have the opportunity to play college football on their consoles again, with some of its quirks and issues looked at much more gently, by this year’s second edition in the relaunch, it faced the standard levels of criticism. Gamers could respond to a dud by saying that if two years was not enough time, surely annual cycles need to go.
Alternatively, and the route I’d expect things to go like any properly cynical sports gamer, is for developers to point to it and say, “see, there’s no pleasing everyone no matter what you do,” and doubling down on annual releases. Waits of two years seem a big ask, telling companies to only expect income on games they’re used to pushing out annually every few years seems a worthwhile effort, but not one likely to succeed.
A Smash Hit Could Prove Itself To Be A Win For All Parties
The most optimistic look at the potential for F1 27 is one in which the game arrives with twice the development time to critical and community praise. If Codemasters effectively uses the additional time to create a game that feels meaningfully improved, it could show a path forward in which everyone benefits from slower development cycles.
Before getting too excited, it’s important to consider how well the game would need to go to convince anyone in a decision-making role who is less concerned with the quality of their games than the profit they deliver. While it would be oversimplified to assume a two-year cycle fully doubles the development costs, they will be significantly higher while also removing one year of purchases from the income side of the balance sheet.
To make longer cycles become a monetary success for companies, this means that the game will need to bring in significantly more income than annual releases have. While this is a big ask, it’s not impossible if the game is truly good enough to bring in far more players. In the event this happens, it could show the folks with control of developers and publishers that bi-annual releases aren’t just good for the quality of the game but also the company’s bottom line.
