Football Manager 25 Delayed Again: Fans Concerned About Game’s Future

<p>Football Manager 25 has encountered a significant delay, one much more extended than previous setbacks, as the development of this football management simulator has proven to be more challenging than expected.

Each year, around November, Football Manager, commonly referred to as FM, launches shortly after the commencement of major leagues, providing aspiring managers the chance to lead their preferred teams to international triumph.

In September 2024, Sports Interactive, the game’s developers, announced a temporary delay of a few weeks, shifting the release to mid-November. However, the situation has deteriorated for fans eagerly anticipating the game’s arrival.

On October 10, Sports Interactive shared a statement indicating that Football Manager 25 will now be pushed back by approximately four months, now scheduled for release in 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

In their statement, they noted, “After thorough evaluation, Sports Interactive has made the difficult choice to further delay the launch of Football Manager 25.

“In discussions with SEGA, our licensors, and partners, we concluded that postponing the launch to March 2025 is the best way forward. We will reveal specific release dates for various platforms once they are finalized.

“During our previous development update in September, we discussed the necessity of rescheduling FM25’s launch to allow us ample time to create the optimal experience for this initial release in a new era for Football Manager.

“Unfortunately, the additional time hasn’t been adequate to ensure the game’s quality and experience meet both your expectations and our exceptionally high standards.

“As mentioned previously, the development cycle has been challenging, with many elements progressing slower than anticipated, despite our team’s tremendous efforts to expedite the process.

“Our timelines were already stringent, and, as highlighted by many of your recent comments, we found ourselves rushing and risking the compromise of our established quality standards. This has exerted immense pressure on everyone in the studio, all of whom are dedicated to delivering the best gaming experience possible.

“FM25 represents the most significant technical and visual leap for the series in a generation. We cannot afford to jeopardize this critical moment in Football Manager’s evolution by hastily releasing it in November.”

Football Manager 25 cover — Sports Interactive

With this delay, Sports Interactive also announced that the gameplay reveal will occur in January 2025, just a few weeks prior to the new launch date.

Additionally, players on PC and Mac will have the opportunity for Advance Access; however, specific dates for this access are not yet confirmed as of this writing.

Many franchise supporters had already expressed concerns regarding the game’s status after preorders were opened without any preceding feature announcements or reveals.

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