FOOTBALL Manager is one of the most highly anticipated games of the year among football fans, with the next entry in the series being one of the most anticipated to date.
Sega, the publisher behind the Football Manager series, gave Football Manager 25 a November 26 release date late last month, something that was met with rejoicing from fans who were eagerly awaiting the title.
Making things better was the fact that the mobile version of FM25 was set to be included for free for Netflix subscribers, so those who didn’t want the full-fat version of the game wouldn’t have to pay extra for it.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be, and Sega – along with developer Sports Interactive – has announced that the game will be delayed into 2025.
In a statement posted to Twitter, Sports Interactive said that the new release date for Football Manager 25 would be in March 2025, with an exact date not announced.
The statement says that the developer tried to deliver the best possible experience by launching it as late in the year as possible, but the extra time wasn’t enough to make sure the game reached the high standards expected from fans.
Sports Interactive says that development on Football Manager 25 has had a difficult time in development, with many aspects of the game taking longer than expected.
To make up for this, the developer tried to rush to get things done, but found that it was rushing too much and the game as it stood wasn’t going to live up to the expected standard.
Because of this, the game needs a few more months in development, and Sega won’t be showing off any more gameplay for the game until it’s in a good state to show, which is expected to be in January 2025.
Sports Interactive says that Football Manager 25 is the biggest technical and visual advancement for the series in a generation, and that it was important to get such a big game right rather than rushing out a buggy product.
Unfortunately, this also means that the game will miss out on most of the football season, with tournaments like the EUFA Champions League already underway and set to wrap up in May.
This leaves EA Sports FC 25 to dominate the gaming space throughout the football season, with no other major games set to be released to cash in on football fever.
When Football Manager 25 does eventually arrive, it will be available for PC, Xbox, PS5, and mobile devices, as well as a Nintendo Switch version called FM25 Touch, all of which have been delayed with this news.
For more sports game news, check out our article about EA Sports FC’s first big promotion.
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