One of the world’s most beloved football management simulation games, Football Manager, has become a staple for fans of the sport and gaming alike.
Each year, players eagerly anticipate the latest instalment, ready to take on the role of a football club manager, making strategic decisions, signing players, and leading their teams to glory.
However, fans will have to adjust their expectations this year, as Sports Interactive has announced a significant delay in the release of Football Manager 25.
When Will FM25 Be Released?
Originally slated for a November launch, the game will now be pushed back to March 2025, leaving many wondering what this means for the franchise and its dedicated player base.
One user on X asked:
it begs the question of the continual release date Will users be forced to buy two versions of FM within a 6-8 month period or will FM26 be released much later than normal as well?
Another asked:
Why would you release the game at the end of the season? What is the point?
While this news may be disappointing for eager fans, the developers have not yet confirmed a specific date within that month.
They have assured players that they will provide further updates regarding the exact release date as soon as it is finalised.
We have made the tough decision to delay the release of Football Manager 25 until March 2025.
Statement: https://t.co/zW7dRd1Lkp pic.twitter.com/UKPnz4l0Gb— Football Manager (@FootballManager) October 10, 2024
Why Has FM25 Been Delayed?
While the FM developers expressed their disappointment with the news of the delay, they emphasized that it is essential for maintaining the integrity and quality of the game.
Here's their statement in full:
After careful consideration, Sports Interactive have made the tough decision to further delay the release of Football Manager 25.
Following discussions with SEGA, our licensors and partners, we have agreed the best course of action is to delay the launch until March 2025. Specific platform release dates will follow once confirmed.
In our last Development Update in September, we explained that we needed to push FM25’s original release back to give ourselves more time to deliver the best possible experience for this first instalment in a new era of Football Manager.
This additional time has not been sufficient to ensure the game quality and experience meets your expectations and our very high standards.
In the previous blog we explained that it has been a difficult development cycle for the studio. Many things have been moving slower than we had predicted – despite everyone in the team working at an incredible pace to try and get everything done.
Timelines were already tight and, as rightly pointed out by many of your recent comments, we were simply rushing too much and in danger of compromising our usual standards. This has put an enormous amount of pressure on everyone working across the studio, who are all passionately committed to delivering the best game possible.
FM25 is the biggest technical and visual advancement in the series for a generation. We simply cannot compromise the delivery of this crucial juncture in Football Manager’s history by rushing to release it in November.
Of course, this is not where any of us expected to be seven weeks out from our release but, in the spirit of our studio values, we always consider the bigger picture – and the bigger picture here is that we need this additional time to deliver a game that we can all be proud of.
For the large numbers of you who have already pre-ordered the game, we thank you very much for your trust and support. Given the delay, however, should you wish to claim a refund, please contact your retailer.
Something you noted as missing from our announcement on 30 September was mention of Advanced Access on PC/Mac. We can confirm Advanced Access will be available ahead of the new release date and, when we are confident on how long that period will be, we will update you at the first opportunity. The new gameplay reveal will also now move to the end of January 2025.
We are intensely aware that this will be massively disappointing for you. We share that disappointment and are extremely sorry.
Thank you for reading and your patience. It means the world to us as we continue to work on creating a new era for Football Manager.
While the delay of Football Manager 25 is undoubtedly disappointing, it reflects Sports Interactive's commitment to delivering a game that meets the high expectations of its dedicated fanbase.
The team remains focused on ensuring that this new era of Football Manager is nothing short of exceptional.
