Sega and Sports Interactive have decided to scrap the release of Football Manager 2025 (FM25) and will instead focus on the next instalment in the series, Football Manager 2026. This announcement was made as part of Sega’s recent financial results and is unexpected news for the annual sports franchise.
FM25 had been previously delayed twice, with the most recent postponement pushing its arrival to mid-football season. This would have created a situation where Sports Interactive would have needed to release two entries in the series, FM25 and FM26, within the same calendar year.
Sports Interactive has apologised for the cancellation of FM25, stating that anyone who pre-ordered the game will be automatically refunded. The studio acknowledged that this news would be disappointing, especially after the release date had already been moved twice.
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. pic.twitter.com/tLRbq8305K
The decision to cancel FM25 was made because the development team felt that they were “simply rushing too much and in danger of compromising our usual standards.” According to Sports Interactive, the additional time from the first delay “has not been sufficient to ensure the game quality and experience meet your expectations and our very high standards.”
Football Manager’s development team, alongside Sports Interactive, made a daring call to break away from the usual sports gaming formula, opting to overhaul the game completely with a brand-new Unity engine.
It turns out, that gamble has backfired spectacularly.
Initially pencilled in for a November 2024 launch, FM25 was then pushed back to March 2025 due to the transition to Unity, a shift that was touted as the most significant technical and visual leap in the series for a generation. The developers were determined not to cut corners, choosing to delay rather than deliver a rushed product. Despite years of development, the game’s match engine, interface, and AI mechanics failed to hit the desired level of refinement.
The warning signs, however, were there early on. In September 2024, the game’s international management mode, which allowed players to take charge of national teams like England and Brazil, was scrapped. The following month, just weeks before its traditional November release window, the game was officially postponed until March. Despite assurances that the first gameplay footage would be unveiled in January 2025, that deadline came and went with radio silence, leaving fans fearing the worst.
And now, those fears have been confirmed, FM25 has been completely scrapped. Sports Interactive has pulled the plug, meaning there won’t be a new entry in the series this year for the first time in decades.
Naturally, this news will spark disappointment and frustration among die-hard Football Manager enthusiasts, many of whom have followed the franchise religiously for years. But after the initial shock wears off, some may come to appreciate the bigger picture.
Sports Interactive could have followed the EA Sports playbook, churning out a progressively stale game every year, watching their audience dwindle while wondering why sales were slipping. Instead, they took a bold risk of tearing everything down and rebuilding from scratch. It’s a move that has blown up in their faces this season, but in the long run, it could prove to be the right call.