SEGA and Sports Interactive Bid Farewell to Soccer Manager 25 Following Quality Concerns

Image by the team at Sports Interactive

Football Manager 25 (FM25) has been discontinued just weeks prior to its anticipated March 2025 release period so that the developer Sports Interactive can concentrate on the upcoming installment of the franchise.

The game was previously delayed on two occasions but has now been canceled by Sports Interactive and publisher Sega following extensive internal discussions.

In an announcement on the Football Manager website, Sports Interactive confirmed that pre-orders will be refunded and expressed their apologies for the protracted delay in communicating this decision – but acknowledged the need to meet regulatory requirements.

“Due to stakeholder regulations, including legal and financial compliance, today was the earliest date that we could make this announcement,” the studio remarked.

Sports Interactive stated that FM25, promoted as a significant revamp for the series, presented a variety of challenges that ultimately hindered the team from achieving its intended goals.

“Every choice to postpone the launch was made with the intention of getting the game closer to the target level, yet as we neared critical milestones at the start of the year, it became blatantly obvious that we would not meet the required standards, even with the modified timeline,” it clarified.

“While many aspects of the game have met our objectives, the overall player experience and interface do not align with what we aim to deliver. Extensive evaluations, including user playtesting, have validated the new direction for the game and we are nearing our goal – however, we remain too far from the standards you deserve.”

Releasing the current FM25 would have been the “incorrect choice”

The studio mentioned that it could have launched FM25 in its present state and issued updates later on, but believed that this would have been the wrong choice.

It also proposed that postponing the launch again would result in the release happening too late in the football season, potentially disrupting the rhythm of future adaptations.

The studio will now direct its attention to the next installment in the long-standing football management simulation.

“Following the cancellation, all efforts are now dedicated to ensuring that our upcoming release meets our aspirations and achieves the quality we all anticipate,” it added. “We will keep you informed about our progress as soon as we can.”

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