FM25 has been cancelled. In a surprising turn of events, Sega and Sports Interactive have officially scrapped Football Manager 25, shifting their focus toward the next major release in the franchise. The announcement, made alongside Sega’s latest financial report, brings an abrupt end to the highly anticipated game.
Why Has FM25 Been Cancelled?
FM25 faced a series of delays before its eventual cancellation, with Sports Interactive struggling to navigate multiple challenges. Originally planned as a groundbreaking instalment in the series that would be on a new unity game engine and would include women’s football for the first time, FM25 was already postponed beyond the usual release date of November, leading to an inconvenient mid-season release window. Had it launched later than March 2025 as was the revised plan, the studio would have been in the difficult position of releasing both FM25 and FM26 within the same calendar year—an unusual and impractical scenario for the long-running series.
The decision to pull the plug on FM25 was not taken lightly. Sports Interactive cited numerous obstacles, including both known issues and unforeseen complications. Though details remain somewhat vague, it is clear that the studio felt it could not deliver the high-quality experience fans expect without compromising future projects.
The full statement from SI reads as follows:
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. Please see the FAQs below on obtaining your refund.
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. Due to stakeholder compliance, including legal and financial regulations, 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.
Due to a variety of challenges that we’ve been open about to date, and many more unforeseen, we currently haven’t achieved what we set out to do in enough areas of the game, despite the phenomenal efforts of our team. Each decision to delay the release was made with the aim of getting the game closer to the desired level but, as we approached critical milestones at the turn of the year, it became unmistakably clear that we would not achieve the standard required, even with the adjusted timeline.
Whilst many areas of the game have hit our targets, the overarching player experience and interface is not where we need it to be. As extensive evaluation has demonstrated, including consumer playtesting, we have clear validation for the new direction of the game and are getting close – however, we’re too far away from the standards you deserve.
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.
Thank you for reading, your patience and your continued support. Our full focus now returns to creating a new era for Football Manager.