If you are a fan of the Football Manager series (if you are here, I assume you are), then you may well be forgiven for wondering what the hell is going on with the release of FM25.
Let’s rewind to September
As you may know, in September, the Football Manager’s developers, SI, made a big announcement about the release of FM25. The announcement stated that the game that was slated for its usual release in November would be delayed until March 2025, which was shocking for the game’s loyal fanbase.
We have made the tough decision to delay the release of Football Manager 25 until March 2025.
Statement: https://t.co/zW7dRd1Lkp pic.twitter.com/UKPnz4l0Gb
— Football Manager (@FootballManager) October 10, 2024
The fans were obviously disappointed with the delay. However, from what SI told us, the game was nowhere near ready. The developers were attempting the most significant overhaul of the game series in its history.
They underestimated the sheer scope of the project, which led to inevitable delays. The fact that the game was using a new game engine, even for the most clueless player (i.e., me), surely added to the difficulty of completing the game.
The delay suggests that the issues must have been severe for SI to delay the game for so long. The company is pretty honest with its players, and this was no different as they laid out their struggles with finishing the game.
Have there been any updates recently on the game?
With FM25 supposed to be coming out next month, some fans of the game are getting worried that we don’t have any updates on the latest edition of the game. Usually, by now, we would have lots of reveals and leaks of gameplay, features, etc.
SI even stated that the new gameplay would be revealed at the end of January. Unfortunately, there has been no such reveal, which has only added to the speculation about when or even if the game will be released.
The silence from SI has not helped the matter, as due to the lack of a statement, many are even questioning if the game will be released or what form the game will be in if released in March.
Some fans and even FM content makers are speculating that the game will now not be released until the summer after the season is finished.
Even as someone who is obsessed with FM25, I don’t think that would be the worst idea. If the game is released in March, most of the top European leagues will be over in months.
If making the game has been so arduous, maybe the SI team should instead focus their efforts on finishing it after the big European campaigns have ended. Then, they could release it with an updated database of relegation, promotions, and early summer transfers.
They could then release monthly database updates until the transfer window shuts in Europe in September. I doubt they would be short of people willing to help with database updates if they needed the extra hands.
Everything is just speculation at the moment
Everybody in the FM community, including us, is speculating about what’s happening with FM25. However, the only people who really know the game’s status are those within SI who are working on it.
The game may be released in March, and SI has just been spending their time tweaking it rather than making announcements on social media.
No doubt, from what has been revealed about the game by SI, it has been a massive task. As somebody who wouldn’t even know how to start making a game, I don’t feel like I am in a position to judge SI.
However, many doubters have criticised the game’s developers, and many fans feel they will not enjoy it as much as they would if they had not had to wait so long for SI to finally release it.
Hopefully, when it is finally released, it will be worth the long wait. Although FM24 has been enjoyable, players are more than ready for a fresh edition after playing the last version since November 2023.
Will FM25 finally be released in March as SI has previously claimed?
