Looking back and ahead for a new year of Match Simulator

Happy New Year everyone, and best wishes from me personally! Looking back at 2025, I’m extremely proud of the progress Match Simulator has made this year. We reached 100 million simulated matches, passed 100,000 registered users, and officially finished the BETA in April. Shortly after that, the Play Store app was released, which is now sitting at over 35,000 downloads and is on track to reach 50,000 this year. Since then, a lot of new features have been added, while at the same time we’ve been scaling up and working hard to improve server stability. Unfortunately, in the final stage of the year we had to deal with downtime issues. While we did our best to resolve them, they are still something we’re facing. Even doubling the server capacity was not enough, so we’re entering 2026 with server stability as one of our top priorities. This also led to the introduction of cup limits and saved match limits. These are not decisions we made lightly, but they are necessary to ensure the long-term stability and future of the platform for the coming years. Another major milestone this year was the introduction of premium subscriptions. While some people strongly disliked the addition, many appreciated that there finally was an option to simulate a full matchday. Premium also introduced additional perks, such as double the number of teams in a cup and more storage space for matches and cups. From a financial perspective, subscriptions help build a more sustainable and predictable revenue stream, which in turn made it possible to invest in better server infrastructure. If growth continues, it might even allow more development time or eventually hiring people to work on Match Simulator. Those are longer-term goals, not for 2026 yet, but one can dream. Looking ahead to 2026, we still have a long list of new features planned. Coming soon, the third-place playoff will be added. Match ratings are another much-requested feature that we’ll be looking into. There are also plans to add seasons 07/08 through 13/14, and we are already quite far along with developing an improved match engine. Of course, career mode is always on our minds. We are actively working towards it, but there are still many challenges to overcome. And when we do add it, we want it to be done properly. Naturally, this will take time, but hopefully 2026 will bring some meaningful steps in that direction. There’s a lot more on our list that we’re excited to work on this year. As a small thank-you and to get a good start in the new year: use code HAPPY2026 for a 26% discount on Premium. Applies to monthly subscriptions, valid until January 4, 2026 23:59 UTC. I want to end by thanking all of you for your enthusiasm and support. Without you, none of this would have been possible. The big goal of Match Simulator remains the same: to grow into a large football community. You are the first people to be part of that journey, and I’m genuinely very grateful to have you here. A special shout-out to the moderators here and in the Discord, who help keep this community growing, safe, welcoming, and warm. Thanks again, and here’s to an amazing new year in Match Simulator. — Joshua ;

Read more More articles