The highly anticipated release of Football Manager 25 has been abruptly cancelled only a month before its scheduled launch date. It’s worth noting that sports games are among the most lucrative video game genres out there. In fact, in 2024, no less than seven out of the top 20 best-selling games in the U.S. were sports games, which is quite remarkable considering these are usually new annual releases. The only sports title missing from this list was NHL, but given its history, that’s not entirely unexpected. This clearly demonstrates the strong affection gamers have for sports games. They can be a gold mine for publishers, offering them a significant source of income through additional sales of players, randomized packs, and other premium content.
In the sports gaming market, EA and 2K dominate, but there are other teams creating games within this genre. For instance, Sony San Diego Studio specializes in MLB games, while Sports Interactive is known for Football Manager – a game favored by many despite being more niche. Unlike mainstream sports games like FIFA from EA, Football Manager offers an immersive experience where you manage every aspect of your team, even the smallest details. This unique gaming experience has gained a following among soccer enthusiasts. The latest version, Football Manager 24, has received an 84 on Metacritic and a ‘very positive’ user review status on Steam, one of the most popular platforms for this series.
Football Manager 25 Cancelled Ahead of March 2025 Release
Despite the anticipation, it appears that the launch of Football Manager 25 has encountered some unexpected challenges. Originally scheduled for release last fall, which is customary for the series, the game was deemed not yet ready. As a result, SEGA and Sports Interactive postponed the release of Football Manager 25 to March 2025, with a gameplay preview promised for January. Unfortunately, we are now in February, and that gameplay reveal did not occur as planned. In a surprising turn of events, SEGA and Sports Interactive have decided to cancel Football Manager 25 entirely, just one month before its scheduled release. The companies have issued an extensive statement addressing this situation.
Sports Interactive expressed regret for falling short of fan expectations and acknowledged they couldn’t deliver a game that met their standards for player satisfaction. Although they see a possible solution, the time needed to implement it would extend beyond the soccer season, making it impractical for enthusiasts.
Sports Interactive acknowledged in a statement that despite their team’s tremendous effort, they haven’t met their goals for the game in several areas due to numerous obstacles, some of which were unexpected. They have delayed the release multiple times in order to bring the game up to the desired quality level, but as critical deadlines approached at the end of the year, it became evident that they wouldn’t reach the required standard, even with the extended timeline.
Although several aspects of the game meet our goals, the overall player experience and interface still require significant improvement. Extensive assessments, including user testing, confirm that the new game direction is valid, but we’re not quite there yet in terms of reaching the quality standards you expect.
Consequently, they chose to scrap the entire project for Football Manager 25 and instead put all their efforts into developing Football Manager 26.
Instead of launching FM25 in its current form and making adjustments later, we’ve decided it’s better to take a step back,” the studio explained. “We didn’t want to delay the release until March because it would be too late in the football season for players to buy another game later on. By cancelling the launch, all our efforts are now directed towards creating a top-notch next release that meets our objectives. We’ll keep you posted on our progress as soon as we have updates.
This gaming company, well-known for sports titles, has shown an unusual level of self-control by holding back on releasing a game. Many sports game developers have faced criticism for launching games that are incomplete or full of bugs, which leaves fans feeling disappointed because the games lack the quality and charm they remember from past versions. The situation here is reminiscent of when EA decided to cancel “NBA Elite 11”.
Despite being manufactured, distributed, and even tested by some critics, Football Manager 25 was abruptly canceled a week before its scheduled release date. A demo version preceded this, riddled with glitches, which led to mockery from fans and raised doubts about the game’s quality. Though copies of it can still be found, they are exceptionally rare and highly valued. Unfortunately, due to its cancellation, it seems unlikely that anyone will ever get a chance to play Football Manager 25.
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2025-02-07 07:09