Skip to main content PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES Search PC Gamer View Profile Movies & TV Gaming Industry PC Gaming Show Newsletter Signup Community Guidelines Affiliate Links Meet the team About PC Gamer PC Gamer Magazine Subscription Why subscribe? Subscribe to the world's #1 PC gaming mag Try a single issue or save on a subscription Issues delivered straight to your door or device From£35.99View Doom: The Dark Ages Monster Hunter Wilds Marvel Rivals 'Just make a very good game': Sloclap dismisses the idea that online games need to be free-to-play Tyler Wilde Contributions from Daniella Lucas 12 April 2025 The studio's new competitive sports game, Rematch, will cost $30 when it releases this summer. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Sloclap) Sifu developer Sloclap has pivoted from martial arts games to sports games with Rematch, a 5v5 competitive football (soccer) game coming this summer. It turns out the skills transfer: Rematch is more Rocket League than FIFA, and it's "something special," writer Daniella Lucas said after visiting Sloclap for a hands-on preview. It'll also be $30, a decision some will probably balk at. Most of today's biggest multiplayer games either started as free-to-play games or turned free-to-play at some point, and a common refrain when a competitive multiplayer game fails is that it should've been free-to-play—it was said about Concord. Speaking to PC Gamer during that recent studio visit, Rematch creative director Pierre Tarno said that he doesn't think online games have to be free-to-play, and that making a free-to-play game was never even on the table for Sloclap. You may like Soccer fans should be paying attention to Rematch, the 5v5 game coming this summer from the developer of martial arts hit Sifu Rematch blew away my expectations: trailers don't do Sloclap's 5v5 football game justice "I never considered free-to-play," Tarno said. "One of the things I love about making games is that there is no secret formula or anything, but the best way—or maybe actually the only way—to make a commercial success is to just make a very good game." That was certainly the case for Helldivers 2, which launched at $30 and became the fastest-selling PlayStation game ever. "One of our cultural pillars at Sloclap is respecting our players, respecting their intelligence, respecting their skills," Tarno continued. "We like challenging gameplay and gamers are a very discerning audience. They are often very analytical, very precise in their assessment of mechanics and what works, what doesn't, what's balanced, what's not balanced, etc. "My point is, if you make a game that's good enough, that's unique enough—even if players say, 'Oh, it's an online game with a competitive edge, it should be free-to-play otherwise it's dead on arrival'—I think that's not true. I think that if it's original and solid, plus very reasonably priced, players will get it." The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. 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. Rematch will be out on June 19 (here's the Steam page) and if it's as good as Absolver and Sifu, I sure hope players get it. Daniella's optimistic—check out her hands-on preview for more. 2025 games: This year's upcoming releases Best PC games: Our all-time favorites Free PC games: Freebie fest Best FPS games: Finest gunplay Best RPGs: Grand adventures Best co-op games: Better together Tyler Wilde Social Links Navigation Editor-in-Chief, US Tyler grew up in Silicon Valley during the '80s and '90s, playing games like Zork and Arkanoid on early PCs. He was later captivated by Myst, SimCity, Civilization, Command & Conquer, all the shooters they call "boomer shooters" now, and PS1 classic Bushido Blade (that's right: he had Bleem!). Tyler joined PC Gamer in 2011, and today he's focused on the site's news coverage. His hobbies include amateur boxing and adding to his 1,200-plus hours in Rocket League. With contributions from Daniella Lucas 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. 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