Active Soccer 3 officially launches on July 13, 2026
Hi everyone,
I’m very happy to finally announce that Active Soccer 3 will officially launch on July 13, 2026.
This has been a very long journey for me, and I can honestly say that I am incredibly proud of the game. Active Soccer originally started with a strong retro arcade spirit, but during development Active Soccer 3 has grown into something much bigger than that.
The match engine has evolved so much that I now see the game as a true arcade football experience, regardless of whether people want to call it retro or not. It still has that immediate, fast and direct feeling that I love, but under the surface there is a much deeper football game.
A true arcade football game, with full control
In many ways, Active Soccer 3 has become a sort of simcade football game: arcade in its speed, accessibility and fun, but with enough control and football logic to let you play real football on the pitch.
There are no scripted actions forcing the outcome. You are always in control.
You can build tiki-taka moves, play on the counter-attack, use overlapping runs, make your striker hold the ball up, create one-twos, switch play, bend the ball into space and much more.
But every action has to be earned.
- You have to aim.
- You have to choose the power.
- You have to control the curve of the ball.
- You have to read the situation and execute the play yourself.
That is exactly what makes the game feel so rewarding to me. When you score a great goal in Active Soccer 3, it does not feel like the game did it for you. It feels like you created it.
No scripts. No rails. Just football, freedom and skill.
I know football games today are often built around scripted moments, assists and predefined outcomes. Active Soccer 3 goes in a different direction.
If you are able to detach yourself from that modern way of playing football games, I truly believe you can appreciate what Active Soccer 3 is trying to do.
It is fast, free, manual, physical, unpredictable and skill-based.
It has its own identity.
The work continues after launch
The extra development time has also allowed me to work ahead on the first updates after release. I have already been preparing a patch that will add new features, new languages and more improvements.
I will share more details about that soon.
I have spent almost all my time working on this game. Making a football game is extremely demanding, especially as an indie developer, but I have a very clear idea of where Active Soccer should go.
When I look back at Active Soccer 2 and Active Soccer 2019, I can really see how far the series has evolved. Active Soccer 3 feels like a huge step forward, and I sincerely hope it can become the beginning of a bigger journey.
Thank you to everyone who supported the game, gave feedback, shared clips, wishlisted it, or simply believed in the project.
See you on the pitch on July 13, 2026.
— Gianluca