Sega cancels Football Manager 25 over development challenges

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Sega and Sports Interactive have cancelled Football Manager 25 across all platforms due to challenges during development. 

This marks the first time the series has skipped a year since 2004. The title, touted as the “biggest technical and visual advancement,” faced difficulties with the transition to the Unity engine, particularly with the player experience and interface.

“Sports Interactive regrets 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,” FM wrote in a statement. 

“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,” it continued. 

“Whilst many areas of the game have hit our targets, the overarching player experience and interface is not where we need it to be… 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.” 

Hindered by challenges 

The company went on to acknowledge the disappointment caused by the cancellation of FM 25, especially after the release date was delayed twice. They apologised for the delay in announcing the decision, citing legal and financial regulations as the reason for the timing. 

It further explained that despite significant efforts from the team, they were unable to meet the goals they set for the game due to a mix of anticipated and unforeseen challenges. Although some aspects of the game met targets, key areas, such as the player experience and interface, fell short. 

Football Manager 25 was also set to be released on Netflix, expanding the game’s reach to a wider audience. However, with the cancellation of the game across all platforms, releasing via the streaming giant has also been postponed.