Football Manager 2018 will include a feature where players come out as gay.
Miles Jacobson, studio director at Sports Interactive, explained that Football Manager's 'newgen' players – fictional, computer-generated players who keep the sports sim running – can come out in the game.
"It doesn't happen with any real-life players because of course we don't know who in real life is gay and who isn't, and we didn't want to wrongly be outing players," he told The Mirror.
Not every player will see this feature come to light, but if a star at their club does come out, they will find out from a news item in their manager inbox.
"Part of the reason we decided to do this is because there are gay footballers," Jacobson – who revealed they had consulted anti-discrimination group Kick It Out while working on the game – told BBC Sport.
"We know from the amount of professionals that there has to be players who are gay but feel they don't want to come out.
"I find it weird that it's still a problem in football, so we decided to try and show people that coming out isn't a big deal and can be a positive thing. I just think it's crazy that in 2017 we are in a world where people can't be themselves."
Jacobson added that the feature will exclude 'newgen' players in countries where homosexuality is illegal.
"In some countries that are less forward-thinking than the UK, it is still illegal to be gay," he said. "In those cases we have simply respected their laws, so if a player is based in one of those countries, the player won't come out."
Footballers who've previously played in the British Premier League have come out in the past, often after they have retired from professional football.
Recently, these include former Leeds United midfielder Robbie Rogers, and ex-Aston Villa and Stuttgart star Thomas Hitzlsperger, who came out four months after he retired.
"We want it to be seen as a positive thing," Jacobsen added.
"Being gay is just a totally normal thing in life, and it's the right thing to put it in the game because it's something that we're going to be seeing in the future."
