After missing the original release date, Sports Interactive has now announced Football Manager 2025 for the end of November. The series is entering a new era on several levels.
There was widespread disappointment in the community when developer Sports Interactive announced at the beginning of September that they would have to postpone the release of Football Manager 2025. A good three weeks later, however, it is now clear when tactical wizards and diamond-eyed fans can take their places on the virtual bench again: FM 25 will be released on November 26 for PC, PlayStation and Xbox – including Game Pass. More information about the release on the Switch and in the mobile version will follow in October.
Quantum leap with a late start
One of the biggest innovations of FM 25 was responsible for the delays. This is being programmed in the Unity Engine for the first time, which turned out to be more difficult than expected – and should pay off visually in particular. As well as the first fully licensed Premier League, which promises even more immersion.
However, the current Football Manager 2024 is not the last of its kind only because of the technical development. As Sports Interactive revealed in the course of the release announcement, FM 25 is also breaking new ground in terms of content. For the first time, women’s soccer is to be opened up to prospective coaches and sports directors in a personal union.
The studio did not want to be drawn on the inclusion in more detail yet, but wants to provide more transparency in the near future. According to an attached roadmap for the upcoming offshoot, there will be a more detailed discussion of women’s football and its integration into the game on October 7. Subsequently, as-yet-untimed content will include a closer look at the renewed interface, tactics, or match day experience.
Long-planned changes should “bear fruit”
However, Football Manager 2025 will not only come with some new features. As developer CEO Miles Jacobson already revealed in June, some aspects of the previous games have also been dropped. These include, for example, the Versus mode or the calls during an ongoing game.
Therefore, the focus is all the more on the fresh coat of paint, which Jacobson wants to present in more detail as soon as possible. “We’re really looking forward to showing you more of the game in the weeks leading up to release,” he said in a Sports Interactive press release, specifically highlighting the two major changes. He said that FM 25 is “where the world gets to see two of our multi-year projects come to fruition: the switch to the Unity engine and the introduction of women’s soccer.”