Football Manager famously skipped last year, so it’s fascinating to see platform holder SEGA announce a stripped-back free-to-play version for PS5 and PS4.

Available for closed beta test sign-ups now, SEGA Football Club Champions is powered by the Football Manger engine, and promises to guide you from “a small club competing locally […] to taking on the world”.

The release will feature two modes: Career, where you “call the shots on the pitch and strive to build the greatest club of all time”, and Dream Team, where you’ll go head-to-head with other players from around the world.

The game will feature 10,000 real-life footballers, including athletes from the J League, K League, and Manchester City.

The trailer embedded above references SEGA’s old Pro Soccer Club o Tsukuro series, which had releases on the SEGA Saturn and Dreamcast in Japan before eventually launching worldwide on the PS2.

Considering the target platforms, which includes mobile, and the licenses being announced, we suspect this is more aiming at the Asian market. But there could be real value in a simpler, free-to-play version of the world’s most popular spreadsheet sim. We suspect the PS5 will still get this year’s edition of the main Football Manager game from Sports Interactive as well.