Sports Interactive has Cancelled Football Manager 25

First postponed, now cancelled, the development of Football Manager 25 was ill-fated from the outset. Sports Interactive apologizes publicly, announces pre-orders will be refunded and focuses on the next "era for Football Manager".

With a message on the website and corresponding social media posts, Sports Interactive has announced that Football Manager 25 has been cancelled. The "difficult decision" was made after "extensive internal discussions and "careful consideration" with Sega.

"We know this will come as a huge disappointment, especially given that the release date has already moved twice, and you have been eagerly anticipating the first gameplay reveal. We can only apologise for the time it has taken to communicate this decision," the message says.

Sports Interactive justified the cancellation by stating that the project would not achieve the quality standard that they set for themselves in all areas by the previously planned release date. Since the release date would have been extremely late for a football title due to the two postponements, a further postponement was out of the question. It was also not an option for Sports Interactive to launch the game in its current state and only achieve the desired quality through post-release patches.

In an FAQ that was also provided, Sports Interactive explained that customers who pre-ordered Football Manager 25 from an officially Sega-authorised retailer would automatically receive a full refund.

"Through the cancellation, every effort is now focused on ensuring that our next release achieves our goal and hits the quality level we all expect. We will update you on how we are progressing with that as soon as we are able to do so," the message continues. "Our full focus now returns to creating a new era for Football Manager."