Sports Interactive has announced the 2025 issue of the popular game Football Manager has been cancelled.
The company had originally targeted a release date in early November but pushed it back to later in the month after citing a “challenging” development cycle. Then a further delay was announced in October but they have now pulled the plug completely on this year’s release.
Sports Interactive said anyone who wished to claim a refund on their original pre-order will be allowed to do so.
Now fans of the game will have to wait until the next release which the company say they are making “every effort” to get live.
The statement read: “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.
“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.
“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. Today was the earliest date that we could issue this statement.
“We have always prided ourselves on delivering the best value for money games that bring you countless hours of enjoyment, that feel worth every moment and every penny you spend. 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.
“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.”
FM25 was due to be the first edition of the series to use a new Unity game engine, while women’s football was also to be introduced into the game for the first time.
