SEGA and Sports Interactive have announced the postponement of their football manager, Football Manager 25, from November 26 to March 2025. The studio justified this choice with the need for more time to produce a title that lived up to expectations; it's the first time the game hasn't made it to the end of the year, and we're wondering at this point if the future FM26 won't make it to March instead of the end of the year.

Here is the official statement regarding the postponement:

After careful consideration, Sports Interactive has made the difficult decision to further delay the release of Football Manager 25. After discussions with SEGA, our licensees and our partners, we have decided to delay the launch to March 2025. Release dates for specific platforms will follow once confirmed.

In the last development update in September, we explained that it was necessary to postpone the original release of Football Manager 25 in order to have more time to deliver the best possible experience for this first chapter of a new era of Football Manager. This additional time was not enough to ensure that the quality and experience of the game meet your expectations and our very high standards.

In the previous blog, we explained that it was a difficult development cycle for the studio. A lot of things moved slower than we had anticipated, despite everyone on the team working at an incredible pace to try and get everything done. Time was already tight and, as many of your recent comments rightly pointed out, we were simply rushing too fast and risking compromising our usual standards. This put enormous pressure on everyone at the studio, who were passionately committed to making the best game possible.

Football Manager 25 represents the biggest technical and visual advancement in the series in a generation. We can't jeopardize the fulfillment of this pivotal moment in Football Manager's history by rushing to release it in November. Of course, none of us expected to be seven weeks away from the game's release but, in the spirit of our studio's values, we always consider the big picture, and the big picture in this case is that we need this additional time to deliver a game we can all be proud of.

For the many users who have already pre-ordered the game, we thank you very much for your trust and support. Given the delay, however, if you wish to request a refund, please contact your dealer. In our announcement on September 30, you noticed that there was a lack of a reference to Early Access on PC and Mac. We can confirm that Early Access will be available before the new release date, and when we're sure how long this period will last, we'll update you at the earliest opportunity. The reveal of the new gameplay will also move to the end of January 2025.

We are acutely aware that this will disappoint you enormously. We share this disappointment and are extremely sorry.

Thank you for reading and for your patience. It means a lot to us as we continue to work to create a new era for Football Manager.

--Sports Interactive and SEGA