Pitchside Empire is a business management simulation in which the player runs a five-a-side football pitch rental facility. Customers phone in to book slots and the player quotes a price for each call, negotiating against a hidden customer budget, with regular clients and facility reputation affecting how much teams are willing to pay. Profits are reinvested into changing rooms, showers, a canteen, seating, floodlights that make evening slots sellable, and pitch surface upgrades, while additional plots such as an industrial yard, harbour district, lakeside complex, downtown arena and hilltop campus each hold four pitches and attract a different clientele. Staff including managers, cleaners, cooks, attendants and security can be hired and promoted to run the business automatically. From level 10 the local clubs hold a neighbourhood league season on the player's pitches in exchange for a hosting fee and ticket revenue. The game also features customer reviews, on-pitch fights that damage reputation, and thirty-day history charts for cash, occupancy and level.