Football Manager 2025 cancelled by SEGA and Sports Interactive
Football Manager 2025 was one of the most hotly anticipated games of 2024. Featuring a new engine for the first time, the Unreal Engine, Football Manager 2025 was set to be a major leap forward for the popular video game franchise.
Originally expected to release in November 2024 as it does every year, Football Manager 2025 was then delayed by it's developer, Sports Interactive, and its publisher, SEGA, due to concerns that the game was not in a fit state to be released.
At the time, Sports Interactive said that Football Manager 2025 would be delayed and would eventually release in March 2025, with a gameplay reveal coming by the end of January.
As the deadline for the gameplay reveal wasn't met, fans of the series had continued to become more and more worried about when Football Manager 2025 will release, and it has now been confirmed that it will not be releasing at all.
When will Football Manager 2025 release?
Although there was hope that Football Manager 2025 will release in March 2025, that has now been confirmed to not be the case by Sports Interactive.
With the game now cancelled, fans may be wondering why was Football Manager 2025 cancelled, something that Sports Interactive addressed within their statement on Twitter and in their blog post:
"Whilst many areas of the game have hit our targets, the overarching player experience and interface is not where we need it to be. As extensive evaluation has demonstrated, including consumer playtesting, we have clear validation for the new direction of the game and are getting close – however, we’re too far away from the standards you deserve." - Sports Interactive
Given how many games release in the modern era, in unfit states that are later fixed down the line, those asking why Football Manager 2025 didn't release may be confused, but Sports Interactive also have an answer for that question:
"We could have pressed on, released FM25 in its current state, and fixed things down the line - but that’s not the right thing to do. We were also unwilling to go beyond a March release as it would be too late in the football season to expect players to then buy another game later in the year." - Sports Interactive
Photo: Sports InteractiveFootball Manager 2025 cancelled
With Football Manager 2025 cancelled, Sports Interactive had this to say:
"We know this will come as a huge disappointment, especially given that the release date has already moved twice, and you have been eagerly anticipating the first gameplay reveal. We can only apologise for the time it has taken to communicate this decision. Due to stakeholder compliance, including legal and financial regulations, today was the earliest date that we could issue this statement.
We have always prided ourselves on delivering the best value for money games that bring you countless hours of enjoyment, that feel worth every moment and every penny you spend. 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." - Sports Interactive
The news came following SEGA's quarterly report to shareholders, which seemed like a final opportunity for Sports Interactive and SEGA to confirm when Football Manager 2025 will release.
However, that doesn't mean all hope is lost for the Football Manager franchise.
When will Football Manager 2026 release
Fortunately, Sports Interactive did also confirm that Football Manager 2026 will release later this year.
Although a release date for Football Manager 2026 is not yet confirmed, it can be expected that the game will release in November 2025, in line with the usual date that Football Manager releases. It is also a reasonable assumption that the game will release in a beta phase two weeks earlier for those who pre-order it.
On Football Manager 2026, Sports Interactive had this to say:
"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." - Sports Interactive
Football Manager 2026 will have some incredible new features, including the long awaited debut of the Unity Engine to the Football Manager series. The introduction of the Unity Engine is intended to be revolutionary for the franchise and was expected to be in Football Manager 2025, but that will not be the case following its cancellation.
