Sega and Sports Interactive have officially cancelled Football Manager 25 after extensive internal discussion and careful consideration.
Sports Interactive says it’s “very sorry” to have let down fans and will now shift its focus to the next annual release. The reasoning behind this decision, although it’s not specifically mentioned, seems to be the transition to the new game engine. It was planned to be the “biggest technical and visual advancement in the series for a generation” laying the foundations for a new era.
This is the earliest Sports Interactive was legally allowed to issue the news due to stakeholder compliance, with the update going on to mention how there’s been a “variety of challenges” and the new game is still not up to the “standard required” even after multiple delays.
While FM25 hit certain “targets”, the “player experience and interface” is still not up to scratch, and other aspects would have required fixes down the line, which the team doesn’t believe is the “right thing to do”. Additionally, it’s also not willing to go beyond a March release as it’s “too late in the football season”.
The plan is to now focus on ensuring the next release hits its goals and the quality level expected. Football Manager 25 was previously announced for the Switch and multiple other platforms.