Football Manager: Developers and Sega "shift focus" as FM25 video game officially cancelled
Game developers Sports Interactive have confirmed that Football Manager 25 will not be released to players.
The popular video game franchise - which sees players take to the dugout to carry out all the duties of a real football manager - is released annually, with players looking forward to each upcoming title.
But Football Manager 25 (FM25) has been the subject of numerous delays, with developers citing that the game is “not where we need it to be”. Now, it has been announced that FM25 will not be released at all.
A statement from Sports Interactive, posted on X, said: “We have made the difficult decision to cancel FM25 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 been moved twice, and you have been eagerly anticipating the first gameplay reveal.
“Due to a variety of challenges that we haven’t been open about to date and many more unforseen, we currently haven’t achieved what we set out to do in enough areas of the game, despite the phenomenal efforts of our team.
“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.”
Fans, although disappointed by the news, are not as upset as gamers from other franchises have shown themselves to be in the past - with many on X replying to the post saying they would prefer a complete game to be released next year than for FM25 to be released incomplete.
One user said: “I'm sure this has been a difficult and stressful time for all involved. Thank you for your efforts so far, even if a game can't be realised this cycle.”