Football Manager 25: Release date, new features, trailer, more

Football Manager 25 is going to bring some notable changes to the FM franchise, with a bunch of new features to really freshen up the series when the game arrives. Here’s everything we know about the upcoming title including when it’s out, what exactly is new, and more.

Football Manager is the football fan’s perfect escape into the world of football management. Taking your non-league team through the divisions and into the Champions League is a feeling that not many video games could replicate.

It’s easy to sink hundreds of hours into a save no matter how casually you play, and FM25 doesn’t look to be any different – though players will have to wait a little longer after the game was delayed right into 2025.

Here are the key details.

Does FM25 have a release date?

Football Manager 25 is penned for release in March 2025. Originally, the game was supposed to arrive in early November as always, before devs Sports Interactive announced a slight delay to November 26.

In a September dev update, SI said that “the FM25 development cycle has been challenging for the whole team.” One reason cited for this was the move to a Unity engine, rather than its own engine.

Then, on October 10, they announced a further delay, this time pushing all the way back to March 2025, though no exact date was specified.

Platforms

Football Manager 25 is going to release on PlayStation 5, Xbox One Xbox Series X|S, PC/Mac, Mobile (through Netflix) and Nintendo Switch with FM Touch.

Xbox Game Pass users will also be able to get FM25 from Day One through the service.

It’s worth noting that each version of the game is slightly different between platforms. On PC/Mac, for example, you can load unlimited nations, while FM25 Console can only load up to 10 nations, and FM25 Touch/Mobile can each only do 5.

New & removed features

One of the biggest new additions coming to FM25 is women’s football. While the exact details of how women’s football will work in the game, such as which leagues are available, it has been confirmed to be coming.

The game will also have a whole new UI given the switch to the Unity engine, and for the first time in years, the Inbox will not be the ‘homepage’ for players, signifying a huge change as players have to “relearn” how to navigate the game. This engine switch will also mean new animations, a new matchday experience, and much more, so the game will likely look very different to previous years.

Sports Interactive

Football Manager 25 will look pretty different from previous iterations.

With these new features and changes, though, some things have been removed.

For starters, player weight will no longer be a piece of data that is readily available. Sports Interactive’s Miles Jacobson explained: “Through the creation of our Women’s Football database, we discovered that while the weight of male athletes can change a bit month to month, women’s body types are very different from men’s and their weight fluctuates a lot more, often weekly.

“This perspective encouraged us to review the wider game, much like we have with all other areas, and we’ve ultimately decided to no longer show weight for any players in FM25.”

Not only that, but FM25 will no longer allow players to take on an international management role. Jacobson explained that not only would it not meet the quality threshold if they did try to add international management, but actually only 6% of players even use it.

There is still loads more to be announced for Football Manager 25 and this may well include more new features.

Football Manager 25 trailer

The first FM25 trailer, ‘The New Era’, launched on September 30. It didn’t give a proper insight into gameplay or what exactly to expect, though this will likely come in time as players gear up for release.

Football Manager 25 is already available for pre-purchase on PC/Mac, including a 10% discount if you do so now.