Interview: Andrej Kugonic discusses Top Eleven's upcoming update
With the world cup kicking off this Sunday, Top Eleven is releasing a new seasonal update that brings a host of events, offers and giveaways to the popular management sim on November 17th. On top of that, it will receive a few visual tweaks and a limited-time minigame.
We recently spoke with Andrej Kugonic, Head of Marketing at Nordeus, about the update. Together we chatted about what the update will bring, the limited-time minigame and the collaborations to promote this seasons that saw Nordeus team up with Mr Beast and Fabrizio Romano.
Could you introduce yourself and your role on Top Eleven for our readers, please?My name is Andrej Kugonic and I am the Head of Marketing here at Nordeus, where I oversee all of our marketing efforts for Top Eleven. I previously was leading our performance marketing team, helping to reach football fans and gamers worldwide.
Top Eleven will receive a new seasonal update on November 17th. Can you tell us what players can expect from it?Every Top Eleven season is special in its own way, but we’re particularly excited about the one we’ve just recently launched. The product team has been hard at work on a new limited-time minigame that will be going live this season, and in support of the release, we’ve prepared an exciting campaign that we think will really engage our community and new players looking for an immersive football experience. In addition, we’ve updated the look and feel of the game and have new events, offers and giveaways happening throughout the season, so players can certainly look ahead to an action-packed time in Top Eleven.
Would you say this update presents a great time for new players to start playing? If so, why? And if not, why not?I think this is a really exciting moment for new players to jump into Top Eleven. There is of course no bigger moment than this in the football calendar with the most anticipated event of the year happening, so whether you’re a longtime fan or new to the sport, channelling that excitement around tournament time into football games is a great way to complement the thrill of the moment.
On top of the new limited-time minigame, which is really unlike anything Top Eleven fans will have experienced in our game before, we’re coming off the back of a huge year in which we introduced 3D matches and animations, which have been a gigantic hit with our community. So, for new players, it’ll be a great time to experience the excitement of football with Top Eleven’s core features while being first in line to try out something brand new.
Alongside the upcoming update, you are also collaborating with well-known YouTuber Mr Beast and football journalist Fabrizio Romano. Can you tell us a little bit about how these collaborations came about and what players can expect from them?As a marketing team, we’re constantly looking for great content creators to collaborate with, and with a campaign of this magnitude, we of course wanted to make a splash with some of the biggest names in their respective areas, two people who we are huge fans of personally!
Starting with Fabrizio, who we collaborated with over the summer - his insights on the football industry itself and all of the amazing content he produces is something we all really enjoy consuming as football fans at Nordeus, so we were delighted that he was up for collaborating with us on another project. Our last collaboration was a big success with our players, so we thought this campaign would be a perfect opportunity to once again explore the exciting world of transfers with an expert like Fabrizio, so players can definitely expect to learn more about the ins and outs of navigating the football industry in a fun and engaging way.
With Mr. Beast - of course, he needs no introduction. He has completely awed so many over the years of producing great videos and collaborations. We were very interested in the work he does with his Beast Philanthropy channel, which highlights a lot of special causes around the world with that unmistakable Mr. Beast feel. The project we landed on with the team is really inspiring and is a great reflection of how the world of football can come together to help those in need. It’s still a work in progress, but we can’t wait for the video to go live.
On that, Mr Beast and Fabrizio Romano are two very different types of content creators. Was it important to work with different personalities to promote this update? If so, why?They are two very different types of content creators indeed, but our approach is trying to find ways to engage our community and potential players in new, refreshing ways with creators who simply do exciting, engaging, interesting things, regardless of whether or not it is football, so we think broadly in that regard. We’ve had successful content collaborations over the years with content creators who touch on a variety of subjects with their content by looking for ways to connect our game in a holistic way with what makes their work special and memorable, to begin with.
We’re super excited about Penalty Clash. As a football management game, Top Eleven places you in the shoes of the manager where you’re making all of the decisions surrounding your football club, and Penalty Clash adds a new dimension to that. It is the first action-oriented minigame that we’ve done, where you’re guiding your shooter and goalkeeper. Competition within the feature extends not only to how you as a single player can perform but also how much you can contribute to the country of your choosing, where you’re joining forces with other players to push for rewards.
There are lots of resources up for grabs in the minigame that will then help you on your road to trophies in the core game, as well as the ability to add your shooter and goalkeeper to your squad as well. Climbing the leaderboards not only improves your rewards but places you front and center for bragging rights, so you’ll want to be participating regularly while the event is live.
