Sports Interactive has officially cancelled Football Manager 25 after its release was delayed by months from the series' usual launch window. In its announcement, the developer said that it made the decision after an extensive discussion with Sega, its publisher, and that it's skipping this version to focus on the next installment instead. Football Manager is a football (or soccer) management SIM game series that typically gets a yearly release. The last one, Football Manager 2024, came out in 2023, and this particular installment was supposed to be released in November last year before it was pushed back to March 2025.

The developer explained that it truly believed it would be able to reach the level of quality it was aiming for when it announced the March release date, but it encountered "challenges" that made it unable to reach its goal. Sports Interactive previously said that things were moving slower than it predicted to be able to produce the game it wanted. It was "rushing too much and in danger of compromising [its] usual standards," it added.

It sounds like the company got close to being able to release the game, as "many areas" had hit its targets. However, the "overarching player experience and interface" are "not where [the company] need it to be." The developer promised "the biggest technical and visual advancement in the series" with Football Manager 25, and it would not be able to deliver on that if it pushes through with its plan to launch the game this March. It was also unwilling to move the release date again, since the next version is already scheduled for launch later this year. Those who've already pre-ordered the game will get a refund for their purchase.