Turns Out, You Don't Need to Like Football to Love 'Rematch' – Who Knew?
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
Sloclap's 'Rematch' is proving to be a surprise hit, and the data reveals that its core audience isn't who you'd expect: competitive gamers rather than hardcore football fans. This opens up a whole new realm of potential fans who didn't even know they loved sports games.
Right, so Sloclap, the wizards behind the surprisingly addictive sports game 'Rematch,' just dropped a truth bomb that's got me chuckling. Apparently, *most* of the folks hooked on their game aren't actually football (soccer, for you Yanks) fanatics. I know, *bloody hell*, right?
According to Eurogamer, who got the scoop from Sloclap CEO Pierre Tarno, the current sports game landscape – a yearly deluge of slightly-better-than-last-year versions – created a perfect opening for something… different. 'Rematch,' with its focus on quick, strategic matches, filled that void. But here's the kicker: it's not just football fans playing it. It's competitive gamers, the type who usually spend their time in MOBAs or first-person shooters.
Tarno told Eurogamer, "There was a space, clearly. I do think however that our fans go further than those of sports games. In fact, we see via data, currently the core audience of Rematch lean towards those who play online competitive games rather than those who are fans of football."
And it gets better! Even the devs at Sloclap aren't all chanting for their favorite teams. Tarno admitted that many of his team were initially skeptical, but after internal tournaments, they were hooked. It wasn't about the sport itself, but the team dynamics and strategic gameplay.
Why is this significant? Well, it hints at a potential untapped market. Sloclap reckons there's a massive audience of sports fans who aren't necessarily hardcore gamers, the type who religiously follow gaming news. They're the FIFA and Call of Duty players, waiting for the next annual release. Reaching them, Tarno says, is about word of mouth and consistent updates. Fair dinkum, that sounds like a solid plan, but it also suggests that they might not even know the game exists.
It’s a clever strategy that goes to show that you don't need a hardcore gaming background to build one of the most captivating games of the summer. Hopefully, we will see more development teams build games for casual gamers, or the rest of us could just be waiting for the next yearly update with nothing to do, but *yawn*.
Maybe we'll even get those goalies to stop trying to be fancy and just, you know, clear the bloody ball.
Tags: Rematch, Sloclap, Sports Games, Indie Games, Gaming News
Original article: Eurogamer