Our thoughts on FM25 being delayed until 26th March 2025

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fm25 development update

Anybody excited about the release of FM25 will have to put their excitement on hold for a while, as on Thursday, the game developers Sports Interactive revealed that the release of the game will not be until March 26th 2025.

It was a surprise, to say the least, as in September, the SI team had stated that it would be out in late November rather than the time it’s usually released in late October or early November.

News released on FM’s official website

fm25 delay screenshot

The news was released on FM’s official website. Here is a snippet of the statement:

After careful consideration, Sports Interactive have made the tough decision to further delay the release of Football Manager 25.

Following discussions with SEGA, our licensors and partners, we have agreed the best course of action is to delay the launch until March 2025. Specific platform release dates will follow once confirmed

The statement continued talking about the challenges that the SI has had dealing with the evolution of the game, as the game is going through the most significant changes in a long time.

It seems like the issue is more than just problems implementing a new game engine. However, as somebody who has never had any experience making a game, let alone a best-selling managerial sim, I don’t feel like I am in the best position to judge those who do.

I am just a fan of the game who, like most FM players, keeps a close eye on developments for both personal and professional reasons.

A bigger task than expected

fm25

It seems that SI has bitten off more than they can chew with the changes for FM25. SI has been pretty honest with fans about the task that befell them in transforming FM into what sounds like an entirely new game.

In previous statements, they revealed their difficulties, which is good from the developer, and SI head honcho Miles Jacobsen is usually pretty honest with the fans of the game.

He obviously can’t be too honest about specifics, but he will interact with fans of the game and isn’t one to shy away from those interactions.

What I would say about this whole situation is that it is slightly strange that initially, they thought they would only need until late November to fix the issues.

However, now the developer needs five months (until late March) to fix the issues. It seems that the problems and issues with the new game were far worse than SI first believed.

I don’t know much about game development, but considering that SI releases an FM game every year, they know what sort of timeframe it usually takes to make a game.

Within five months, you would think that they would have made a large portion of the game in normal circumstances.

However, as SI has continually stressed, this is a unique circumstance. For better or for worse, the game will undergo a Hollywood star-like face-lift. Whether that face-lift will wow or horrify us, only time will tell.

What now for FM25?

Most fans of FM have found it hard to hide their dismay and disappointment at the news that FM25 will not be released until March of next year.

However, the simple fact is that SI obviously feels like the game is nowhere near ready to be put out. We all know that every time an FM game comes out, there are bugs, and they need patches.

It’s never perfect, but the developers feel it’s better to release it so fans can play it and report bugs. They then release updates and patches to fix those bugs.

The massive delay suggests that SI truly need until March 26th to release what they believe to be a game that’s anywhere near finished. If not, they would agree to release it earlier, and let players test it out.

The statement on the official site stated that a gameplay reveal would happen by the end of January. It also stated that PC/Mac players will be given Advanced Access, or early access, as many people will call it. Usually, if you pre-order the game, you get it around two weeks before the official release.

I have seen suggestions that SI should have just released a data update for 2025 and worked on the game until it was ready for FM26 if they felt the game was going to be such an undertaking.

As a diehard fan, I would have been happy with that to tide me over. It would have ended any speculation on when the game is coming out and give the developers a chance to bring us the best possible game.

There is still also the idea that SI could skip FM25 altogether and release the finished game as FM26 after the current season is over, as March 26th is heading towards the end of the 2024/25 season.

In the past, SI has been very good at taking into account the views of the players. They have often implemented those opinions and ideas into the game itself.

Hopefully, whenever we get FM25, it will be worth the wait, as it has already gained a lot of negativities attached to it, so it must hit the ground running. If not, then SI will no doubt feel the wrath of the FM community.

Will FM25 be released on 26th March?