FM25 Canceled: Dev Apologizes

Sports Interactive and Sega have announced the cancellation of Football Manager 25 across all platforms. This marks the first time the long-running series has skipped a year since its inception in 2004. The decision follows a challenging development process involving a significant transition to the Unity game engine.

Initially touted as a generational leap in visuals and technology, the migration to Unity presented unforeseen difficulties, particularly impacting the user interface and overall player experience. Sega Sammy Holdings' recent financial report reflects a writedown of associated costs. Sports Interactive assures fans, in a blog post, that no job losses resulted from this decision, a fact confirmed by Sega to IGN.

The developer has ruled out a Football Manager 24 update with 2024/25 season data, prioritizing the development of Football Manager 26, slated for its usual November release. Discussions are underway with platform holders and licensors to potentially extend FM24 agreements on subscription services like Game Pass.

Following two previous delays, the ultimate cancellation of FM25, originally targeted for March 2025, has prompted apologies and refunds for pre-orders. Sports Interactive emphasizes their commitment to delivering high-quality games and explains that despite progress in some areas, the core player experience and interface fell short of expectations, a conclusion supported by extensive internal testing and consumer feedback. Releasing a subpar game, or delaying further into the football season, was deemed unacceptable. The team’s complete focus now shifts to ensuring Football Manager 26 meets the high standards expected by its players.