The highly anticipated release of Football Manager 25 has officially been cancelled.

Originally expected to launch in early November 2025, FM25 faced multiple delays. The first reschedule pushed its release to later in the month, but subsequent complications led to a further postponement until March. On Friday, Sports Interactive, the game’s developer, confirmed that there would not be a new installment this season.

This cancellation marks a significant moment for Sports Interactive and Sega, the game’s publisher, impacting millions of dedicated players and the vibrant community of content creators on platforms like YouTube and streaming services.

In this article, The Athletic explores the events leading to this cancellation and its ramifications for the community.

What transpired last week?

At 2:30 AM GMT last Friday, Sega Sammy, the parent company of Sega, unveiled its Q3 financial results for the fiscal year ending March 2025, announcing the cancellation of FM25. The statement indicated that the game was shelved to allow more time for enhancing the user interface and graphics, with development assets being earmarked for the next edition.

No new Football Manager game will be released this season (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Sports Interactive also issued a statement through the Football Manager website and its social media channels, explaining that they were unable to deliver the game to their usual high standards. “Due to a range of challenges, many unforeseen, we couldn’t meet our goals in critical areas of the game, despite the outstanding work from our team. Each release delay was a decision aimed at elevating the game’s quality, but as we approached key milestones at the year’s end, it became clear we wouldn’t meet our standards even with the extended timeline,” they shared.

They also noted concerns that the game would not be sufficiently polished or visually appealing if it were released in March, adding, “While we’ve met targets in several areas, the overall player experience and interface are not at the level we need them to be. Comprehensive evaluations, including consumer playtesting, validated that we are close to achieving the new direction for the game, but we are still far from meeting the standards you expect.”

Were there warning signs?

Concerns had emerged as early as September when Sports Interactive announced the initial delay from early November to later in the month.

Shortly afterward, the company confirmed a further postponement to March, citing ongoing challenges in ensuring the quality and experience aligned with their expectations.

“Timelines were already tight, and many of your recent comments highlighted our rush to meet them, which jeopardized our usual standards. This created significant pressure on everyone at the studio, who are dedicated to delivering the finest game possible,” they stated.

“FM25 represents the most significant technological and visual progress in the series for a generation. We cannot risk a hasty release in November compromising this pivotal moment in Football Manager’s history.”

They had previously announced plans for a gameplay reveal in January 2025, which ultimately did not come to fruition.

What challenges did this version face?

Football Manager has utilized an internally developed game engine since the brand’s rebranding in 2004.

A game engine is crucial as it forms the foundation for all design and interface aspects. After nearly two decades with the same technology, Miles Jacobson, head of Sports Interactive, announced in 2023 that the team was exploring an external engine to future-proof the franchise.

“The game has relied on the same technology for over 20 years, and a shift was necessary,” explained Ciaran Brennan, former communications director at Sports Interactive, to The Athletic. “After evaluating several engines, Unity was selected.”

Unity is a prominent game engine released in 2005, used for numerous mobile and desktop games such as Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout and Cities Skylines. Jacobson and his team viewed this transition as vital for enhancing graphics and performance while ensuring the franchise’s longevity.

FM25 was highly anticipated, but transitioning to a new game engine presents significant challenges. Sports Interactive shared that they faced unforeseen development hurdles, mainly due to integrating decades of data into the new environment.

FM25 was slated to use a new game engine (AFP via Getty Images)

“Adapting technology and converting a product while developing a new version poses challenges,” said a video game executive experienced in Unity, who spoke with The Athletic under anonymity. “Transitioning from a custom engine to Unity has its hurdles. It’s not as easy as pushing a button to convert your existing code, assets, and libraries. There are several variables, file formats, and ratios involved, and this extensive work is often underestimated.”

“In the long term, Unity will offer significant advantages as engine development is effectively outsourced, but transitioning is arduous. Code, assets, and libraries will not correspond perfectly—many aspects will need to be rebuilt from square one. The contrast between perceived ease and actual difficulty is often stark.”

The stature of Football Manager

Football Manager holds a monumental status in the football video game sector. Football Manager 2024, launched in late 2023, boasted 14 million players across desktop and mobile platforms worldwide. Sports Interactive generated revenues exceeding £65 million ($82 million) in the financial year ending March 2023, as reported by Companies House. FM25 was promoted as the most groundbreaking edition in a generation.

“Football Manager is a hallmark of gaming, invoking intense passion among a generation of football enthusiasts convinced they could manage their teams better than real-life coaches—ultimately influencing the actual landscape of football,” remarked Daniel Dawkins, content director at Future Games Show and former editor-in-chief at GamesRadar+.

“Football has increasingly embraced data analysis, with numerous clubs relying on Football Manager’s extensive player database for scouting purposes. My insights from FM 2005 significantly enhanced my knowledge of the Japanese league’s top wingers long before (Brighton owner) Tony Bloom discovered Kaoru Mitoma.”

Has Football Manager experienced cancellation before? Is it a common occurrence in gaming?

Indeed, there was a prior instance. Championship Manager 4, the original title before the split from publisher Eidos, was initially set for release in late 2002 but was delayed until March 2003.

Similar to FM25, Championship Manager 4 was critical for the franchise as it introduced a new graphical 2D match engine.

At the time, Sports Interactive cited the need for developers to “fine-tune the game and implement further refinements” as the reason for the delay. When it eventually launched on March 28, it became the fastest-selling PC game in the UK and received several accolades. However, some players reported glitches that hampered gameplay.

Although it has been over two decades since a Football Manager or Championship Manager title faced postponement, delays in the gaming industry are not unusual.

“For Football Manager, this delay is significant. In the broader gaming context, it’s less surprising,” Dawkins commented. “Major titles frequently encounter delays; for instance, Ubisoft’s upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows has been postponed multiple times (initially due November 24, now pushed to February 14, 2025, then to March 20).”

“The complexity of modern game development plays a role; teams often consist of over 500 developers working across multiple international studios. The average single-player game now exceeds 50 hours in completion time, and financial implications are critical—missing sales goals can jeopardize a studio’s viability.”

What new features were planned for FM25?

In 2021, Jacobson expressed a desire to include women’s football in the Football Manager series, with FM25 intended to be the inaugural edition featuring this component.

A dedicated team of analysts and scouts, led by head women’s football researcher Tina Keech, commenced building a database, commencing records from 2001. This project marked the first time in decades that the database was developed from scratch, with over 4,000 women’s clubs now being accounted for, as reported by Forbes.

Will Sports Interactive face financial repercussions from this cancellation?

Football Manager serves as Sports Interactive’s most critical title, significantly driving their financial success. Given the company’s reported revenues exceeding £65 million, the cancellation of FM25 likely means millions in unrealized earnings.

Nonetheless, releasing a glitch-ridden game could tarnish the franchise’s reputation over time. Hence, postponing FM25 to ensure that FM26 is up to standard may prove to be the best decision for long-term viability.

Sega publishes Football Manager (Yuichi Yamazaki/AFP via Getty Images)

“The release of CD Projekt’s highly awaited Cyberpunk 2077 in late 2020 faced severe backlash due to being launched in an incomplete and buggy state, leading to a drastic drop of 75% in the developer’s market value,” said Dawkins. “Although Cyberpunk received numerous patches and has since stabilized, few high-profile games have dared launch under similar circumstances since.”

“Conversely, they did manage to repair that game’s reputation with multiple updates, with the share price escalating threefold from its lowest point. Ubisoft recently experienced a 10 to 20 percent drop in share price following the delay of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, a game crucial to their portfolio amidst various challenges.”

“While Sports Interactive will likely disappoint fans with the cancellation, I commend their prudence. As demonstrated by the Cyberpunk case, a flawed launch is a hard hurdle to overcome, particularly within a truncated annual release cycle.”

What is Sega’s position?

Sega operates as a vast multi-sector corporation, excelling across various entertainment domains. Therefore, the cancellation of Football Manager will not drastically impact its overall financial health. For instance, Sega holds the rights to Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which recently garnered $463.7 million globally on a $122 million production budget, as noted by the Hollywood Reporter.

However, the cancellation had a visible short-term impact on the company’s stock on the Japanese exchange; following the announcement in the Q3 results, SegaSammy’s stock fell by 3.89%. The company’s overall revenues also dipped by 8% for the nine months leading up to December 31, 2024.

How have players and content creators reacted to this news?

The cancellation of one of the most eagerly awaited titles in Football Manager history has understandably left many fans feeling frustrated.

In the interim, modding communities have stepped in to update FM24, ensuring that squads and leagues remain current. For instance, shortly after the cancellation news broke, FMScout announced an update to their 2024-25 downloadable content pack for FM24.

This could usher in a new era for the modding community, which is known for its adaptability, as noted by Dawkins. “FM is relatively simple to modify, and this might help transition players from FM24 to FM26,” he remarked.

However, the cancellation poses a more significant challenge for FM’s expanding base of content creators on YouTube and Twitch, who rely on new game releases to boost their viewership and subsequently their income.

Many creators have transitioned to full-time content creation, banking on annual game releases to maintain their revenue flow. The initial delay of FM25 in March had already begun to adversely affect viewership during the launch period, which traditionally represents peak profitability for content creators. With the cancellation, these creators will miss out on a typical surge of interest surrounding a new release.

“Based on my estimations, not having a new game has likely cost me around £25,000,” stated Jack Peachman, who runs the WorkTheSpace YouTube and Twitch channels. “When I left my job four and a half years ago, it was with the expectation of a yearly Football Manager release.”

“Football Manager typically launches alongside Christmas, coinciding with the peak advertising rates. The release is often a perfect storm, with about 30 percent of my annual income typically earned in the two months before Christmas. This year, I missed that spike in interest. Thankfully, I have a loyal community of regular viewers, but the loss of broad mainstream attention is felt.”

Is there a guarantee regarding the release of Football Manager 2026?

While Sports Interactive has not yet confirmed FM26, the cancellation statement mentioned that part of the rationale for shelving FM25 was to avoid the release of two games in close succession.

“We could have pressed ahead, launched FM25 in its current state, and remedied issues subsequently—but that would not be the right approach. We were also hesitant to extend beyond a March release, as it would be too late in the football calendar to expect players to make a purchase later in the year,” they clarified.

If FM26 follows the pattern of earlier titles, fans can anticipate its release in early November.

(Top photo: Football Manager)