Football Manager 2025 has been officially cancelled, the developer Sports Interactive revealed on Friday.
The troubled game, which was due to launch in October 2024 but was pushed to March amid development issues, will no longer receive a release.
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Instead, SI says, it’ll focus on making the next version of the game the best it can be. Those who have pre-ordered FM25 will receive a full refund for the purchase.
In a lengthy statement released on Friday, the developer apologised to gamers who had been anticipating the reveal of the gameplay trailer for what was proposed to be a major revamping of the game.
“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 statement reads.
“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.”
SI said it could have pressed on and released the game in its current state, fixing the issues down the line, but time was already wasting and releasing a game in March – when the football season ends in May – would have been too short a timeframe to expect gamers to purchase a new game in time for the 2025/26 season.
Unfortunately for owners of the current FM24 game, there’ll be no update to incorporate the current season’s stats. That’s a bummer.
An own goal, but not a red card
With so many developers putting undercooked games onto the market and then fixing them later, it’s refreshing to hear SI own up to its shortcomings and pulling this year’s release in a bit to uphold standards and ensure gamers get the best value.
Is it a bummer the streak of Football Manager games has been broken, and a bigger bummer that FM24 won’t get an upgrade with this season’s data, but this is the best call overall.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
