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How did it come to this? The game that football fans the world over have looked forward to every single year suddenly is no more – for this version at least. An entire iteration of Football Manager is to never see the light of day, and yet the writing has been on the wall for so long it would have been more of a surprise if it had actually ever been released.
Problems started to become apparent in the middle of last year with news of features being cut that had been long-standing parts of the game we knew and love. The issue was, Football Manager as we know it had become long in the tooth with annual releases seemingly rarely offering more than a couple of tweaks and an updated player base. It was the kind of game you did not need to buy every year because it was pretty much the same every time, and with such an active modding community, databases could be updated without a cash outlay.
So even in the early 2020s, the year 2025 was earmarked as the year Football Manager would be reborn. New graphics courtesy of Unreal Engine, and increased computational power finally bringing the the Football Manager game we had always dreamed of.
And yet here we are.
With no new FM and FM25 consigned to the cutting room floor so that the focus can be tuned to Football Manager 26 there must be some fears what happens next.
When the FM25 launch was delayed until March, everybody except Sports Interactive and Sega said, ‘yeah, this is getting cancelled”. How could they release in March and then release the 26 iteration in November the same year to get the series back on track. It was desperation.
And yet here we are.
The general fan consensus is that they should have taken a year out and come back punching with FM26 having had enough time to get things right. Boardrooms unfortunately don’t work like that. Sports Interactive were given the dreaded vote of confidence and we were left to think, maybe they all had something up their sleeve to make it work.
There’s a paragraph in the cancellation statement that speaks volumes without ever trying to be front and center:
“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. Due to stakeholder compliance, including legal and financial regulations, today was the earliest date that we could issue this statement.”
But people had pre-ordered and their cash has been sitting in other companies bank accounts. That’s not really good enough.
Another interesting question lies in one of the FAQ questions at the end of the statement and pertains to FM25 being playable on Game Pass and whether it will remain there until a new games comes out: “We are currently in discussions with our various platform partners and licensors and hope to extend our FM24 agreements. We will provide an update on this in due course.” says the response.
That is definitely a long way from a yes.
Will there be a Football Manager 26?
So Football Manager 26 then? Is that happening? “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.”
With no timelines and a release that would be expected in around nine months time does not leave much wiggle room.
There is no viable competitor to Football Manager, nothing comes close, there has been no point in a company really even attempting it, but this sign of weakness is worrying for one of the oldest franchises in gaming. The Lion is growing old.
Our thoughts and prayers are with SI at this time.
