Back in October last year the Football Manager developers announced the Football Manager 2025 edition will be delayed. It took a couple of months but we now know the game will not be released on any platforms. My opinion? It’s not the end of the world. There are too many things to do despite there won’t be a new edition soon.
The announcement was released worldwide on the night of February 7, 2025. I remember I thought it would be best to cancel the FM25 already.
Why? I don’t want the unfinished game. The same as the last couple of years. I don’t want to spend so much money to get a product that I have to improve by myself. Yes, there will always be things I won’t like but I don’t want to buy a game (the only game I play) with a view that I have to wait to play until it will be updated or patched.
“We could have pressed on, released FM25 in its current state, and fixed things down the line - but that’s not the right thing to do. We were also unwilling to go beyond a March release as it would be too late in the football season to expect players to then buy another game later in the year.”
Yes, that’s exactly my case. I would not buy two FM editions within the same year. I know I will need to buy many things for my son as he will enter the school “era” after the summer holidays. I will buy a quality school bag rather than the second FM.
For me, it’s a good and sensible decision to cancel it.
I know the radio silence from the game developers was frustrating for many of you/us. I know this situation very well from the past when I worked for the football club and I was not able to communicate something what was obvious for most of the people but you had some restrictions on your side to say it.
This sentence from the official statement speaks for itself: “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.”
I’m the last one who would like to defend Sports Interactive but try to think twice (or even more times) about it. Nothing is always so easy and clear. No matter if it’s related to the videogame, football or anything else from the current world.
What to do without the new edition?
Firstly, I know the Football Manager, no matter what edition it is, means a lot to many people. But as I said, it’s not the end of the world. There are many things you can do…
Continue your current FM24 save
Yes, it’s as simple as it sounds. I will do this. I’m still playing my original FM24 save with the blank database (fake players and staff). I’m currently at the end of the 2037/2038 season. I played with Perugia, Dijon and Reading FC so far. And I’m currently in Spain with Burgos FC. I will develop this club the furthest I am able and for so long I will enjoy playing it. I also hope I will have time to write about it again.
You can always resign from your current job if it’s boring already. And try a different nation or a club within the same universe. If nothing more, it will allow you to not sign the same players again and again because of the new save.
“We're pleased to confirm that Football Manager 2024 will remain available across platforms until the release of FM25.”
"Will FM24 remain playable on subscription platforms?
“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.”
Don’t worry about continuing your FM24 saves - If you own the game you can play it for as long as you want. They've just extended their deals with Xbox Game Pass and other subscription services so people on there can keep playing.
FM24 update with 2024/25 season data
There won’t be an official data update by Sports Interactive. But that doesn’t mean you can’t play with the updated data. Just visit websites like FMScout, Sortioutsi, Passion4FM and many more. Most of these websites have “some” data updates already prepared and released thanks to the great work of all the people within the community.
Challenges
Many of us need a challenge. No matter if it’s a new FM edition. As MustermannFM mentioned in his latest video, you can for example visit the The Managers Seat YouTube channel and check their videos to take some inspiration. If you need some.
Nostalgia with the old games
If I did not enjoy my current FM24 save, I would do this definitely. I would install some of the old CM/FM editions and I would spend some time with memories. The FMGrasshopper is a great example as he played the CM4 and he wrote about it.
Hood Gaming recently released a video about his save in FM 2005, and I think it’s exactly that type of nostalgia save you can enjoy a lot. You will play the old game + there will be a lot of great players we all love from the past + you can appreciate (or not) how far the game has developed throughout the years.
The “retro databases'“ are also a good choice. For example, @themadscientistfm's retro databases are very popular.
Other games
Don’t take it negatively but if you are so addicted to playing some video games, just find a different game to play before the new Football Manager edition is ready and released. There are too many other games to play that it would be only waste of time for me to try to find some alternative.
Something else
God, should I spend some time with my family now? Yes, it can be one of many alternative things you can do without the new FM edition.
Try to read the book.
Try to learn something new.
Try to retrain yourself within your current real job.
Try to…
Or maybe try to exercise? I will be 39 years old in April, and despite spending a lot of time working ahead of the laptop, I’m currently in better physical shape than I was ten years ago.
If running, biking, or some hard exercise is not your thing, for any reason, even walking every other day is a great way how to refresh both physically and mentally. If you want/need, feel free to follow me on my Strava account. You will find here my runs, bike rides, walks or home exercises. I’m not a pro athlete, but I like to do something every day if it’s possible to combine it with work and kids. Feel free to chat about any sports activities if you want. It’s better than just sitting at home and doing nothing.