SEGA studio, Sports Interactive, have today announced that Football Manager 2025 has been cancelled following several delays.
The series will return for Football Manager 2026 at a yet to be confirmed date, but this surprise cancellation of the annualised series leaves 2025 the first year without an entry since the series launch with Football Manager 2005. The cancellation applies to all platforms where the game was scheduled for release including Xbox, Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation, PC and Mac.
Of the cancellation, an official post on Sports Interactive's website had the following to say:
"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.
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
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.
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's social media message in full
What does this mean for players?
Outlining what this means for series fans:
- Players who had pre-ordered Football Manager 2025 will receive refunds.
- There will be no update for Football Manager 2024 to bridge the gap until Football Manager 2026 launches
- Football Manager 2024 is in subscription services including Xbox Game Pass. Sports Interactive are in discussions with platforms and licensors to explore the possibility of extending the 2024 entry in these services.
Are you upset of the news of the cancellation? Will you continue to play Football Manager 2024 with outdated rosters until a launch? Let us know in the comments.
