EA will be retiring its FIFA Manager series at the end of this year, founder and designer Gerald Köhler announced today in a blog post.

In an open letter to fans of the series, Köhler stated that one of the major factors for the shut down of the series is the relatively niche market for the football management genre. Unfortunately for fans of FIFA Manager, the rival Football Manager has consistently performed better.

One game has practically dominated the market in recent years. The niche market and general trend toward online and mobile games were also contributing factors. Moreover, FM had reached a crossroads at which a new engine and/or corresponding online technology would be the only way to give the series a boost. When all these factors were evaluated, it led us to the decision to blow the final whistle.

This brings an end to more than ten years of FIFA Manager games.