Super Sub: World Cup

About this game

Latest news

• Announcements·19 Jun 2026Official

  Your World Cup Can Begin!

  Today we released version 1.0 of the game! It's finally out, officially, with all content and all features! We made it in time for the World Cup 2026, pfew.For those who want the full story, check out the devlog (or "developer's diary") on my blog:https://pandaqi.com/blog/videogames/commercial-releases/super-sub-franchise/super-sub-world-cup/It details all the ideas, problems, different versions, reasons for (not) doing something, etcetera. Beware: it's 15,000 words of pure game dev info.I'll also publish a long article on that blog about the journey towards our first Steam game release in the near future. It's not available yet because I want to add the results (statistics, sales, etc) from the launch week to close it out.For those who want the much shorter update, read on! What's inside?A game that blends sports, arcade, incremental, and idle in unique ways. It's available on Windows, Mac, and Linux.You can play it with mouse, keyboard, touchscreen, or controller.Most modes contain 28 matches to play, each one slightly harder than the previous. The special World Cup mode simulates an actual world cup with 8 matches to play of increasing difficulty (group stage -> final).An upgrade tree with 100-150 different upgrades (the number depends on the mode you play). They help you get stronger, faster, more accurate, and possibly break the rules to try and win those matches. You can buy different player types, different ball types, and more to fit your tactics or playstyle. You just need to score enough goals to earn enough money to buy them :)It contains 10 unique modes. The regular mode is quite chill and casual. An even more chill mode is the one where you have no opponents or no clock. The World Cup mode has the opponent fighting back and is hard to beat. Or try the Roguelike mode where failing once means the end, or one of the more silly playful modes such as Hands or Random.There are 4 fully-featured save slots, allowing saving anytime, so you don't have to finish g...
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• Announcements·15 Jun 2026Official

  Steam Deck Support

  When we started making this game, many people told us how much they love their Steam Deck and how we should absolutely put time and energy into making the game compatible.So we did!The game has been tested on the Steam Deck and is completely functional.Scaling of elements (and zoom level) are modified to match the relatively small screen of the Steam Deck.There are no known bugs, crashes, or lag/performance issues.It shows the correct button prompts whenever applicable.Though the usual controls will be all you need: Joystick to navigate or move, "A" to do the one thing you can do in this game.If you played the game on a Steam Deck and still find issues, let us know. We obviously intend to keep supporting this device on all future games.(In fact, during the development of this game I met two strangers who also started talking about their Steam Deck immediately once this subject was brought up. People really seem to love that device. I guess it helps that this kind of casual game is well-suited to handheld play.)Have fun with the game,Pandaqi
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• Announcements·14 Jun 2026Official

  Demo Updated (v3)!

  Today we released the latest demo for Super Sub: World Cup! My last update post stated it would be the final demo update. But, well, things change! After taking a break from the game for some time, I had some new insights and ideas about what the game should be. Around that time, some recommendations from Steam Support gave me a list of improvements to consider as well. I also found a new group of playtesters (the first demo versions were mostly tested by family members) that had different ideas and feedback. Some of it pretty big changes to the core of the game. After thinking it over and doing some quick experiments with these new ideas, I decided that these big changes were for the best.Let's see what's changed, shall we? What changed?CampaignWhen the game started, I imagined a game that became more and more "idle" as you went on. Simulating the World Cup (8 matches; 3 groups, 5 playoffs) seemed to make sense and fit the general progression.Over time, however, the game has shifted to a far more active, tactical, arcade-y sports game. This is not a surprise---it was already true in the previous demos! But it simply made me blind to reconsidering that original template of 8 matches, which now meant pretty large difficulty spikes/jumps.Similarly, mechanics like fouling and injuries made less and less sense as an upgrade when you can't automate it. When it's not just a probability to improve, but an active gameplay element.As such, the (default) campaign was changed to 28 matches, and many upgrades were removed from the upgrade tree and put into the matches instead.Every next match only provides one change to slightly increase the challenge. If you play very well (or get lucky), you might even beat the next match without needing more upgrades.Most of the changes are "we added +1 opponent" or "your goal is smaller" or "the opponent is slightly smarter now".But some of the changes now introduce a new rule/system, such as "injuries" or "shot accuracy".The first few matc...
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• Announcements·29 May 2026Official

  Demo Updated!

  Today we released the latest demo version for Super Sub: World Cup!It will likely be the final demo (before release in a few weeks). I already hinted at the previous demo release that many things were still changing and being improved, so let's see what happened!What changed?The UI was improved in many ways. To give some examples:It skips non-essential screens so you can instantly get into your first game.Some elements became larger, such as the scoreboard.The right button is highlighted to notify you of, for example, upgrades being available (or where you most likely want to go as a player).More ways to navigate the upgrade screen were added, such as bringing your mouse cursor to the edge of the screen to scroll that way, or Q and E to zoom in/out on keyboard too.The first few matches were streamlined.Lower and smoother difficulty curve for completely new players.New elements such as shot accuracy are introduced later, one step at a time.The main mode also received custom descriptions for each match, to set the mood but also prepare you for some new element thrown your way.In general, the main mode---the first few matches any new player will play---became much easier and winnable in your first few tries. Fewer mechanics to get good at/figure out at once. (The previous difficulty was a result of the classic trap of "the developer is much more skilled at his own game than the average new player and misjudges". Won't be making that mistake again. But hey, that's why we playtest.)We applied the same lessons to later matches, though those are not included in the demo.The demo content was adapted too. Now that the first few matches are much easier and more has been implemented, the old "cut off" for content didn't make sense anymore. We've kept a high number of modes and upgrades enabled, then limited the matches to only the first two. This hopefully allows players to experience the varied ways to play the game, without giving away too much.A laundry list of tweaks and f...
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• Announcements·26 May 2026Official

  First Demo Released!

  Today we released the latest demo for Super Sub: World Cup!It's one of the final steps before releasing the full game, which is planned for release during the (2026) Football World Cup.It most likely won't be the final demo. Though this demo is reasonably polished and full of content, playtests keep showing us ways to improve the game, and we're already busy with an overhaul of several parts.What's in the demo?It's available for free on Windows, Mac, and Linux.You can play it with mouse, keyboard, or touchscreen. (Controller is also supported, but there is no UI explaining which keys to press yet.)It contains the first 3 matches and first upgrades in every branch.It contains 4 unique modes. You can play a chill version, or a more difficult one with smart opponents, or try the smaller and faster Futsal mode, and more.And it contains 14 countries to play.We wanted to give you a broad taste of all the final game will have to offer, instead of a very curated tiny portion of it. Maybe this approach was a mistake---we're learning about Steam and demos as we go---so let us know what you think. What's yet to come?The game is already "content complete". It means all the upgrades, matches, modes, teams, ideas, everything has been made and put into the game already.In this final stretch we must finish the second important step to making a fun game: balancing all the ideas and finding the best version of them. Until the release of the game, I'll probably be endlessly tweaking numbers, switching the order of upgrades, and testing if it's too hard or too easy now ;)Some more surface-level features are also missing in the demo due to time constraints. For example,Full support for controller input is only a few steps away.Some actions have no (clear) feedback yet, or reasonable limits to their power, and are therefore not very usable in play.And of course, as always, more visual polish and tiny bug fixes.As it stands now, the full game will have a bracket of 8 matches (increasing i...
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