Sega and Sports Interactive have canceled Football Manager 25 across all platforms after what has been a difficult development.
It’s the first time the long-running sports sim series has skipped a year entirely since it began in 2004.UK-based developer Sports Interactive had called FM25 "the biggest technical and visual advancement for the series in a generation." But it has struggled moving to the Unity game engine, with the player experience and interface in particular causing problems.The announcement came as part of Sega Sammy Holdings’ latest financial results, which include a writedown of costs associated with the game.
The decision was made after “extensive internal discussion and careful consideration” with parent company Sega, Sports Interactive said in a blog post to fans.
Sega has confirmed to IGN that no roles are impacted by the news.Sports Interactive said there won’t be any Football Manager 24 update with 2024/25 season data, as it “would divert critical resources away from the development of the next release which requires our full focus.” The developer is currently in discussions with the platform holders and licensors on the possibility of extending its FM24 agreements on subscription services such as Game Pass.FM25 had already suffered two delays before its cancelation, the latest to March 2025.
Sports Interactive has now shifted its focus to Football Manager 26, which is expected to release in the usual November slot.“For the large numbers of you who pre-ordered FM25, we thank you enormously for your trust and support – we’re very sorry to have let you down,” Sports Interactive said.