This marks the first time an annual FM title will not be released since the series began in 2004 with Football Manager 2005.
FM25 was set for a March 2025 launch
Photo Credit: Sega/ Sports Interactive
Football Manager 25 has been cancelled after a turbulent development cycle and delays. Developer Sports Interactive will now shift its focus to the next release in the long-running football management sim series. This marks the first time an annual FM title will not be released since the series began in 2004 with Football Manager 2005. FM25's launch, initially set for November 2024, had been pushed to March 2025 as Sports Interactive sought more time to polish the game.
“Sports Interactive regret to inform that, following extensive internal discussion and careful consideration with SEGA, we have made the difficult decision to cancel Football Manager 25 and shift our focus to the next release,” the studio said in development update on the FM website Thursday. “For the large numbers of you who pre-ordered FM25, we thank you enormously for your trust and support – we're very sorry to have let you down.”
The cancellation affects all versions of the game across different platforms. Players who pre-ordered FM25 will receive full refunds if their purchase was made through an official SEGA-approved retailer. The refunds will be processed by individual retailers in due course, the developer said.
The latest update comes merely weeks ahead of the game's delayed launch timeline of March 2025. FM25 had a difficult development period and faced two delays. Sports Interactive struggled to move the entire game to the Unity engine, facing several technical issues in the transition. The target launch date was first moved from the usual early November slot to late November, before being pushed to March 2025.
The studio apologised to fans for the late communication about the game's cancellation, saying stakeholder compliance, including legal and financial regulations, meant February 6 was the earliest it could issue the statement.
“With the launch of FM25 we set out to create the biggest technical and visual advancement in the series for a generation, laying the building blocks for a new era,” the developer said in the post.
“Due to a variety of challenges that we've been open about to date, and many more unforeseen, we currently haven't achieved what we set out to do in enough areas of the game, despite the phenomenal efforts of our team. Each decision to delay the release was made with the aim of getting the game closer to the desired level but, as we approached critical milestones at the turn of the year, it became unmistakably clear that we would not achieve the standard required, even with the adjusted timeline,” it added.
According to the UK-based studio, FM25's overarching player experience and interface was not up to the mark, even though it had been able to it hit its targets in other areas of the game.
Sports Interactive will now move on to the next entry in the series, presumably Football Manager 26, which should likely be released around November 2025. “Through the cancellation, every effort is now focused on ensuring that our next release achieves our goal and hits the quality level we all expect. We will update you on how we are progressing with that as soon as we are able to do so,” it said.
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