Eidos to revive 'Championship Manager'

The once mighty Championship Manager franchise is to be revived after Eidos announced plans to lift the series "out of the doldrums".

The firm has hired Roy Meredith, who joins after spending the last two years working as a global marketing director at EA, to head up the game.

Meredith told MCV: "I think it’s fair to say that Championship Manager has substantially fallen short of where it should be.

"That’s why we need a new approach – as a game it lacks a creative spark, has suffered from unfocused management, and fallen into a rut.“

Up until 2003, Championship Manager, then developed by Sports Interactive, was a huge success story. Originally created by brothers Paul and Oliver Collyer in their bedroom in 1992, a plethora of sequels and record sales saw the title become a widely recognised brand in the games industry.

In 2003, however, Paul and Oliver Collyer's firm Sports Interactive parted company with Eidos. They joined forced with Sega to create Football Manager, while Eidos kept the Championship Manager name but little else.

Following Sports Interactive's decision to join Sega, Football Manager has been widely regarded as the true successor to the original Championship Manager series after winning critical praise and achieving chart success.

Discussing Championship Manager's future, Meredith revealed there has been some "immature" competition between the Eidos and Sega game: "There has been a recent history of direct competition between the brands that’s been unhealthy and immature. I believe we can exist side by side. Of course we need to compete – but it needs to be a healthy competition.”