Football Manager 25 is now scheduled for release in March 2025. Discover why Sports Interactive decided to delay the game’s launch.
In a statement on its website and post on X, Sports Interactive said it had agreed with publisher Sega to delay the launch of Football Manager 25 (FM25) across all platforms until March 2025.
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
The 21st release in the long-running franchise was due to hit PC, PS5, and Xbox on November 26th and Nintendo Switch on December 3rd. It’s already been postponed once, as it was initially expected earlier this year.
Sports Interactive mentioned that “specific release dates will follow once confirmed.”
Previous Football Manager Delays
In its September update, the developer stated the need to push back the original release date to ensure the “game quality and experience meets your expectations and our very high standards.”
It also explained that timelines were already tight but that things were “moving slower” than anticipated. To maintain its usual high standards, it made the difficult decision to delay the game’s release once again.
Sports Interactive called FM25 “the biggest technical and visual advancement in the series for a generation.”
Sports Interactive also mentioned that Advanced Access on PC and Mac was absent from its earlier announcement on September 30th.
It confirmed that Advanced Access will be available “ahead of the new release date” and promised to update players “at the first opportunity.”
The final disappointment was the confirmation that the new gameplay reveal will also be moved to the end of January 2025, so fans will still have a while before getting a good look at the game.
Anyone who has pre-ordered and doesn’t want to wait for the delayed release should contact their retailer for a refund.
FM25 is the Next Generation of Football Manager
FM25 is the follow up to FM24, the 20th release in the franchise and the most pre-purchased title in the history of the series.
FM24 set a new record for the franchise’s history, scoring a 7 million player milestone in February 2024, following its November 2023 release, and becoming the best-selling game in the series.
FM25 is set to usher in the next generation of Football Managers, with some serious changes to how the game looks and how players interact. Gone are the social media screen, international management, and the data chalkboard, alongside modes such as Versus Mode and Challenge Mode—which, according to the developers, weren’t all that popular anyway.
Touchline shouts to motivate teams will also be notably absent from the new game after failing to meet the developer’s high standards.