If you have been a long-time Football Manager fan, you know how devastating the cancellation news of Football Manager 25 was. After being delayed two times, SI officially announced that the game was cancelled. All that promises of a new-gen FM game went down the drain.
The reasoning behind it was mostly technical issues and failing to meet promises. Sports Interactive and SEGA initially stated that the decision was due to development challenges with the new engine and delays in meeting quality expectations.
That was all there was to it, and fans sadly had to accept it. But, in a recent interview with GQ, Miles Jacobson (one of the main men behind the FM series since its inception) clarified things and gave a more detailed answer to why FM25 was cancelled. Here is what he talked about and why it matters for Football Manager 26.
Why Football Manager 25 Was Cancelled
According to Jacobson, the cancellation of Football Manager 25 came down to three main factors: ambitious scope, technical overhaul, and poor user experience.
The team had embarked on a major transition, shifting from their long-standing C++ engine to Unity (C#). The process proved far more complex than anticipated, with tasks expected to take weeks dragging on for months.
By late 2024, Jacobson tested the build himself and quickly realized something was deeply wrong. He said,
“The game was completely hollow”
While the core simulation remained solid, the user interface and overall design were confusing, clunky, and far from the experience fans expected. What was supposed to be a bold step forward had become a product that simply wasn’t fun to play.
Apart from that, the key features that made FM were also missing. The game was plagued with bugs that were taking a lot of time to fix. So, the team was confused about whether to release a subpar game and meet the deadlines or to delay it indefinitely. Jacobson ultimately chose to cancel FM25 entirely and moved on to perfecting FM26. He said to GQ.
“You can’t polish a turd, and FM25… parts of it were turdy,” he says. “What we’re polishing now is a diamond.”
Now, with Football Manager 26, the team has rebuilt from the ground up, keeping what worked, removing what didn’t, and focusing on delivering a title worthy of the franchise’s legacy. However, Jacobson did mention that FM26 still isn’t where it needs to be. He said,
“It’s still not the best looking game out there, but our art and animation team want to get there, and they have the freedom to over the next few years.”
In short, the main reasons for the cancellation of FM25 were that it was not good enough. Both Jacobson and the team realized this, and instead of releasing a half-baked project, they decided to cancel. They salvaged what worked and used it for FM26.
Did they deliver? Well, that depends on who you ask.
