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New Star Soccer creator spills the beans on the next game in the series

Beefed-up visuals, free-to-play, and more

New Star Soccer creator spills the beans on the next game in the series
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| New Star Soccer

In an interview with Pocket Gamer, New Star Soccer creator Simon Read has spilt the beans on the follow-up to his BAFTA-winning footy sensation.

After accumulating over 2 million downloads and that aforementioned BAFTA gong over the past year all on his own, Read plans to bring in plenty of help for the next New Star Soccer game on mobile.

"I may take slightly more of a high-level design role," he told Pocket Gamer.

"I will design the next completely new version, but use artists and maybe even development teams to build the game for me. That'll mean I won't have to worry about the nitty gritty of all the details."

Free-to-play?

Fans of New Star Soccer will know that the iOS version is free-to-play, while the Android edition is a paid app. Based on the sales of each version, Read reckons he'll definitely be going down the free-to-play route for the next game.

"In fact, I would like to release an Android version with the same monetisation system as the one in the iOS version," he says.

"Mainly because the iOS version has made a lot more money than the Android version. I think that's partly because of the success of the App Store, but also because it just allows people to try the game, get a feel for it, and realise that they might enjoy it before they pay any money."

Pirates

The piracy problems on Android are really killing the 'droid version of New Star Soccer, Read admits, too.

"There's piracy on Android, so the game just gets pirated a lot," he explains. "Whereas if it was free, they'd [the pirates] be less inclined to do that."

"So, yeah, I think I'll definitely go down the free-to-play route in the future."

Check out the full interview with Simon Read later on today.
Mike Rose
Mike Rose
An expert in the indie games scene, Mike comes to Pocket Gamer as our handheld gaming correspondent. He is the author of 250 Indie Games You Must Play.