Skip to main content
Games Radar
Retro Gamer
The future of interactive entertainment
Search GamesRadar+
View Profile
Edge Subscription Offers
Xbox Series X
Nintendo Switch
Nintendo Switch 2
Tabletop Gaming
Toys & Collectibles
Retro Gamer
Newsletters
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
Subscribe from just £3
Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
Try a single issue or save on a subscription
Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From£9.99View
Edge Subscription Offers
New Games for 2024
Recommended reading
Sports Games
Rematch dev says FIFA is “so disconnected from how it actually feels to play football,” but his game “feels more dead-on”
Sports Games
Rematch devs “never considered free-to-play,” even if it risked being “dead on arrival,” because “the best way to make a commercial success is to just make a very good game”
Sports Games
Forget FIFA, Rematch is the most authentic football game I’ve ever played – right down to the very worst bits about playing IRL
Sports Games
Turns out ‘Rocket League without cars’ is a good idea: Rematch beta test from Sifu devs flies past 150k players on Steam, suggesting Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 publisher could have another hit on its hands
Sports Games
Rematch review: “As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic”
Action Games
Vampire Survivors kicked off a game development gold rush, but has a legitimately new genre emerged between the cash-ins?
Action Games
“We’re not just making Dark Souls over and over again”: For this indie team, making a Smash Bros-infused Metroidvania alongside an open-world roguelike just makes sense
Sports Games
As Rematch fires past 3 million players, devs say they weren’t planning to follow-up their cult kung-fu game Sifu: “Chasing safe bets is a death sentence”
26 June 2025
“It was not a question of ‘oh, Sifu did very well – what are we doing next”
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Sloclap)
Smash-hit football game Rematch was an unlikely follow-up to its developers’ previous game, but the team knew it wanted to make it years ago.
Speaking to Edge, creative director Pierre Tarno said that “the decision to do Rematch happened way before Sifu was released.” Sifu, for those not familiar with developer Sloclap’s back catalogue, is a kung-fu action game with a unique aging system. It was a commercial success, racking up one million sales in its first month, but it was also an obvious follow-up to its predecessor, Absolver, which was a slightly more open-ended kung-fu game.
In spite of its different subject matter, however, the team knew Rematch would be its next game after Sifu a long time ago. “It was not a question of ‘oh, Sifu did very well – what are we doing next,” Tarno says. In fact, he explains that a small team was actually working on prototyping Rematch almost a year before Sifu’s release.
You may like
Rematch dev says FIFA is “so disconnected from how it actually feels to play football,” but his game “feels more dead-on”
Rematch devs “never considered free-to-play,” even if it risked being “dead on arrival,” because “the best way to make a commercial success is to just make a very good game”
Forget FIFA, Rematch is the most authentic football game I’ve ever played – right down to the very worst bits about playing IRL
The game’s history stretches back even further than that, however. Tarno first pitched Rematch after completing Absolver in 2021. At the time, Sloclap was too small to handle two projects at the same time, so the project that would become Rematch was pushed back.
Even if Rematch maintains a lot of the physicality that shaped Sloclap’s previous games, it’s still a dramatic shift in genre. For Tarno, however, that’s as it should be – “chasing the safe bets is a death sentence,” he says. “I think gamers are on the lookout for new, original experiences.”
Referencing genre juggernauts like FIFA and Rocket League, he points out that “these games are different giants in all these fields, and they do what they do super well. And so I think we just want to do something different.”
Elsewhere, Tarno explains the differences he sees between Rematch and FIFA, suggesting that his competitor is “disconnected” from how it actually feels to play football. Attempting to offer something new, he points out that his game is a little more of a “football player simulator” than FIFA’s tactics-driven approach, further outlining his desire to steer clear of something that had come before.
Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Forget FIFA, Rematch is the most authentic football game I’ve ever played – right down to the very worst bits about playing IRL.
See more Xbox Series X News
Xbox Series X
PlayStation
Social Links Navigation
Managing Editor, News
I’m GamesRadar’s Managing Editor for news, shaping the news strategy across the team. I started my journalistic career while getting my degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick, where I also worked as Games Editor on the student newspaper, The Boar. Since then, I’ve run the news sections at PCGamesN and Kotaku UK, and also regularly contributed to PC Gamer. As you might be able to tell, PC is my platform of choice, so you can regularly find me playing League of Legends or Steam’s latest indie hit.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
Rematch dev says FIFA is “so disconnected from how it actually feels to play football,” but his game “feels more dead-on”
Rematch devs “never considered free-to-play,” even if it risked being “dead on arrival,” because “the best way to make a commercial success is to just make a very good game”
Forget FIFA, Rematch is the most authentic football game I’ve ever played – right down to the very worst bits about playing IRL
Turns out ‘Rocket League without cars’ is a good idea: Rematch beta test from Sifu devs flies past 150k players on Steam, suggesting Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 publisher could have another hit on its hands
Rematch review: “As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic”
Vampire Survivors kicked off a game development gold rush, but has a legitimately new genre emerged between the cash-ins?
Latest in Sports Games
How to unlock titles in Rematch
Does Rematch have Crossplay?
Rematch devs “never considered free-to-play,” even if it risked being “dead on arrival,” because “the best way to make a commercial success is to just make a very good game”
6 essential Rematch tips to know before you play
Rematch dev says FIFA is “so disconnected from how it actually feels to play football,” but his game “feels more dead-on”
All Rematch unlockables and how much they cost
Latest in News
Borderlands 4 director says the FPS is “more intense” than others in the series while Randy Pitchford hints its toughest boss hasn’t even been shown
It’s official: the next James Bond movie will be directed by Dune helmer Denis Villeneuve, who says 007 is “sacred territory” for him
This PS1 Harry Potter parody game just got its first major update, adding a scalable inventory for all those explosive barrels you want to hoard
Before it was Square Enix, Square “collapsed” when Final Fantasy boss Hironobu Sakaguchi left the company, says composer Nobuo Uematsu: “The situation at Square was awful after he quit”
The Social Network is finally getting its long discussed sequel with original writer Aaron Sorkin, and this time he’ll also direct
Blizzard builds a $158 gacha wall in front of a cute pet, tilting Hearthstone players straight off a cliff: “So disappointing for such an adorable boy”
GAME REVIEWS
MOVIE REVIEWS
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: “This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse”
Rematch review: “As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic”
Tron: Catalyst review: “Disc slinging is a thrill in this gorgeous rendition of the series, but I’m let down by a time-loop story that falls flat”
FBC: Firebreak review: “A disappointingly bland multiplayer FPS that’s missing far too much of what made Control special”
Dune: Awakening review: “Both extremely compelling and extraordinarily boring, sometimes at the same time – yet still a true Dune love letter”
M3GAN 2.0 review: “A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion”
28 Years Later Review: “Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy”
Predator: Killer of Killers review: “Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation”
From the World of John Wick: Ballerina review: “Brilliant action, even if the plot gives you a sense of déjà vu”
Karate Kid: Legends review: “Better than Karate Kid (2010), nothing on Karate Kid (1984)”
Ironheart review: “A relic of Marvel’s content-at-all-costs era”
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: “The show’s most assured run of episodes to date”
Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: ‘The Reality War’ is “a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling”
Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: ‘Wish World’ is “an exciting and ambitious” start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision
Rick and Morty season 8 review: “Largely plays it too safe after years of crossing boundaries”
GamesRadar+ is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
Contact Future’s experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Advertise with us
Review guidelines
Write for us
Accessibility Statement
Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury,
BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.
Please login or signup to comment
Please wait…