Hello,
For our second PCM 25 devblog, we will discuss sponsors, a major aspect of the game that we will split into two articles. Today, we will cover finances, some major changes, and the new sponsor parameters introduced this year.
To start, the financial system has been revamped, allowing a shift in how we approach the PCM series for 2025 and beyond. Previously, the budget depended entirely on sponsor contributions, resetting to zero each season without the ability to save funds. When signing riders, the player was directly limited by the sponsor's budget. This was a simple approach, in line with the financial constraints of the game, but in order to evolve, this system needed an overhaul.
Now, the team has its own account, and sponsors deposit their funding at the beginning of the year. Players can choose not to spend everything at once, allowing them to save money for future seasons—for example, if the transfer market is not favorable (e.g., targeted riders are still under contract) and they prefer to keep the funds for later.
We will discuss difficulty settings in a future article, but one of these settings allows players to start with more or fewer existing funds (a percentage of sponsor contributions), adjusting the financial pressure.
These are just the foundations being set for 2025, but with a clear vision for the future of the series. The goal is to gradually expand the ways players can spend their budget, introducing strategic choices that can be challenging especially for teams not at the top of the hierarchy.
A major evolution in sponsorship is that sponsors are now better defined with several parameters that differentiate them, making career mode decisions more interesting.
Overall, sponsors have different parameters, some mandatory and others optional, meaning not all sponsors will have the same characteristics.
[h3]Territorial Parameter:[/h3]
The first parameter concerns geography and will interest those who missed the territorial aspect in sponsor evaluations last year.
As an aside, you may wonder why this system disappeared, the reason being that it didn't fit in well with the new PCM 2024 system and, above all, it had major flaws in the timing of evaluations, which we simply didn't manage to revise thoroughly last year... We know you don't like it when we take things out of the game from one year to the next, but the choices aren't always so obvious, and a decision that may be disappointing in the short term can pay off if we take our time and integrate it better in the long term. So this year, the system is back in a different guise, and is certainly much better integrated than in the past.
This parameter is optional, meaning not all sponsors have it, though it is common, especially among smaller sponsors.
A sponsor can have only one targeted territory, which can be regional, national, multi-country, or continental.
The requirements vary, from needing 3% of the roster to be from the specified region to demanding an entire roster that fits the criteria. Sponsors from countries with fewer cyclists tend to have lower percentage requirements to keep the system realistic and playable.
However, there is a unique case where some sponsors require a roster with at least 10 different nationalities. These are typically larger, international sponsors—be cautious when combining such a sponsor with another that has strict requirements for a specific country!
This parameter comes with a secondary characteristic importance. Some sponsors are very strict about this requirement, while others are much more lenient (there are four levels of importance).
The evaluation takes place in early November, after the offseason, when new sponsors are in place. During the recruitment period from August 1st when sponsor signings conclude (we will explain this in Part 2) the interface will show if you have territorial requirements and how close you are to meeting them.
The evaluation focuses on whether the goal was met (e.g., 50% of riders from Italy). Depending on how far off the team is, the sponsor may be more or less satisfied.
This evaluation influences a coefficient that can either boost or damage the sponsor's confidence throughout the upcoming season, making it a crucial factor, especially if the associated importance level was high.
Additionally, the difficulty setting for sponsors affects this evaluation, a topic we will revisit in a future article about game difficulty.
[h3]Youth Parameter:[/h3]
Similar to territorial requirements, some sponsors may demand a certain percentage of young riders (25 years old or younger).
This parameter is rarer than territorial requirements and is much less common among large sponsors. It has a lower impact on overall sponsor evaluation, and there are no varying degrees of importance.
[h3]Performance Requirement Parameter:[/h3]
All sponsors funding teams want good results, but for some, merely sponsoring a cycling team is enough to promote their product or brand.
There are four different levels of performance expectations, affecting two main aspects:
- Season objectives – The higher the sponsor’s expectations, the harder the objectives will be to achieve (if multiple sponsors exist, the primary sponsor’s expectations dictate the difficulty).
- Confidence calculation – A strict sponsor will penalize a missed goal more heavily than a lenient one.
[h3]Funding Evolution Parameter:[/h3]
We have adjusted how team finances can evolve when a sponsor is signed for multiple seasons. A new parameter, evolution conditions, determines this aspect.
When signing a sponsor, you are now informed of their intention to adjust the budget over time. There are four possible scenarios:
- No evolution: The signed contract is fixed—there will be no additional funds in future seasons. Sometimes, limited choices force teams to accept these terms until a better option arises.
- Small automatic annual increase: If a basic confidence level is met (easily achievable), the budget slightly increases after the final race of the season.
- Annual increase based on company health: The decision is announced in June, allowing time for recruitment adjustments. A minimum confidence level (easily attainable) is required at the end of the season.
- Higher increase requiring strong confidence: A higher confidence threshold must be met, but the budget increase is more significant.
[h3]Temporal Vision Parameter:[/h3]
This parameter reflects a sponsor’s long-term commitment to cycling.
It interacts with confidence levels when deciding whether a sponsor will extend its contract. A high confidence score improves renewal chances, but after a certain number of years, a sponsor will eventually move on.
Similarly, the likelihood of receiving multi-season contract offers depends on this parameter.
[h3]Sponsor Combination Parameter:[/h3]
This final parameter determines whether a sponsor has specific requirements regarding association with other sponsors. There are three possibilities (a sponsor may have none, or one of these three):
- Exclusive sponsor: No other sponsors can be signed.
- One additional sponsor allowed: The team can sign one more sponsor.
- Main sponsor requirement: The sponsor must be the primary partner in any sponsorship deal.
This parameter affects team-building strategies and must be considered carefully.
For modding purposes, all parameters can be manually configured in the database (each sponsor can be customized) or left to random generation. Each parameter can be set individually for each sponsor, allowing a high degree of customization for those who wish to fine-tune their experience.
In the next article (Part 2), we will discuss the new scouting and contract-signing systems, both of which have been completely redesigned.
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