It’s a sim! When video games clash with reality

Players of the latest Football Manager will have to tackle all the problems Brexit brings. It's not the first time real-world conditions have affected popular titles

There is a popular misconception that video games bear little relation to reality. Unfortunately, this is hard to counter when the best-known characters are probably a speedy blue hedgehog and a plumber who lives in a magical mushroom kingdom. Indeed, even comparatively serious games such as SimCity, Civilization and Papers Please take a highly abstract approach to culture, society and government, which sets them apart from real-life events.

This week, however, the maker of the fastidiously authentic video game Football Manager said the game was being updated to simulate the economic effects of Brexit. The accurate portrayal of transfer costs and work permits will be tweaked, making it potentially more expensive to buy foreign players, and more problematic to get work permits for those from EU countries.