Switch to Unity: "Football Manager 25" falls through

Sega cancels "Football Manager 25": The soccer simulation will not be released, the development studio Sports Interactive has announced. Previously, "Football Manager 25" had been postponed several times – Traditionally, "Football Manager" games are released in November.

Football Manager 25 was to be given a completely new look thanks to the switch to Unity Engine. The match simulations in particular, which are implemented in real-time graphics, were supposed to appear more modern as a result. However, the engine change obviously did not go according to plan. The developers have therefore decided to scrap "Football Manager 25" and concentrate on "Football Manager 26" instead.

"With the release of 'FM25', we planned the biggest technical and graphical leap for the series in a generation and wanted to lay the foundations for a new era," wrote Sports Interactive in a statement. "But as key milestones approached at the turn of the year, it became clear that even with the extra time, we wouldn't reach the necessary standard." Anyone who has already pre-ordered "Football Manager 25" will get their money back.

Work flows into "Football Manager 26"

Sports Interactive describes the user interface in particular as unfinished. In general, the gaming experience is not at a point where "Football Manager 25" can be released with a clear conscience. A further release postponement was out of the question, as the current soccer season is already very advanced anyway. "It would have been too late in the season to expect fans to buy another game later in the year."

"This decision means we can now focus all our efforts on making sure our next release achieves our goals and the quality we all expect." This refers to "Football Manager 26", which was scheduled for release in November 2025. However, Sports Interactive did not explicitly confirm this release date in its announcement.

Football Manager is actually one of the reliable bestsellers in the Sega portfolio. The in-depth soccer simulation covers areas such as squad planning, training, tactics and personnel management. The virtual statistics of real players are considered so accurate that they even take into account the scouting departments of real soccer clubs. The games have an extremely large fan base: "Football Manager 24" has been played by over 14 million players across the platforms.

Due to license agreements, older editions of "Football Manager" are regularly removed from the stores. According to a statement, Sports Interactive will endeavor to ensure that "Football Manager 24" remains available for longer in order to close the gap to "Football Manager 26".

(dahe)