In an exclusive interview with us, the game’s director revealed that “it’s a really exciting time for the studio”, and that adding women into the game has been “an enormous amount of work”.
FM25 is set to be a true sequel to the series – not just your bog-standard yearly update.
As we edge towards its eventual launch, the development team is drip-feeding us new information. It’s exciting stuff for longtime fans, as alongside women’s football now being in the game, the Premier League licence is also included – and it’s all being played out on a new engine!
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There’s a lot to look forward to.
Keep reading to find out when we think the FM25 release date will be and to discover everything there is to know about the new features being added in this year’s entry.
When is the FM25 release date? Our best guess
The Football Manager 25 release date should be early or mid-November 2024.
Sega hasn’t officially revealed the game’s release date, so the above date is based solely on when previous FM games have launched. FM24, for example, released on 6th November 2023.
As FM24 launched on 6th November 2023, we’ve gone with a similar date of early/mid November 2024 for FM25.
Given how much is being added to the series in FM25, though, don’t be surprised if this year’s game misses November and takes a little longer.
We’ll update this page with the official release date once it has been revealed.
Can I pre-order FM25?
No, you cannot pre-order Football Manager 25 yet. Pre-orders of the game should go live once the game’s release date has been officially confirmed.
Which consoles and platforms can play FM25?
Football Manager 25 Touch and Football Manager 25 Mobile are set to be released, too, presumably on Nintendo Switch, Android and iOS devices.
We’ll update this page when Sports Interactive reveals what platforms FM25 Touch and Mobile are available on.
FM25 gameplay: New features detailed
FM25 is set to be, “for the first time in decades, a true sequel”. Those are the words of the development team Sports Interactive.
In an official blog post, the development team explained how: “The Unity engine will bring a new graphics engine, a fresh user interface and advanced animations, alongside the introduction of women’s football (plus lots more, across platforms).”
Following a new blog post, we know more about the gameplay and new features. “Put simply, it’s the biggest change we’ve embarked on since moving from our previous brand to Football Manager and the biggest tech change in more than 20 years.”
Expect plenty of the features you know and love to be removed or changed in big ways.
In terms of women’s football being added to the game, meanwhile, our exclusive interview with Ant Farley (design manager for Sports Interactive on Football Manager) – which you can find linked to in the intro! – details how the development team wants “to do it properly”.
He continues: “The level of detail to which we simulate the men’s game, we need to be doing the same for the women’s game.”
It has been confirmed that “you will be able to seamlessly move between managing men’s and women’s teams. One game, one ecosystem.”
Removed options/modes
Touchline Shouts have been removed. According to the development team, “these won’t be back for the foreseeable future.”
The Social Media screen has also been removed, but “supporters are still an integral part of the game”.
What’s more, the Data Chalkboard has been removed, too.
You’ll find that “most of the existing data metrics and visualisations will still be in FM25”, however.
In another shocking update, Create-A-Club won’t be included in FM25, either, with the mode due to make its return in FM26 “with lots of changes and improvements”.
The re-design of Versus Mode is yet to be started, too, “but it may be superseded by something else or return in a completely different form”.
Challenge Mode “is currently scheduled to return completely revamped in either FM26 or FM27”.
Finally, Fantasy Draft mode “will not be playable day one of FM25 but will return much-improved later in the cycle alongside the Main Data Update”.
The team added: “Mid-cycle feature releases are something that will become more regular for the series moving forward.”
New UI and Unity Engine
Football Manager 25 is moving to the Unity Engine, and sports a new User Interface (UI). This means it looks different from before “with enhanced graphical fidelity”.
“FM25’s new UI/UX is driven by what we have called a ’tile and card’ system.”
You can see the new UI/UX in the screenshot above showing how player form will be detailed as an example.
In a massive change, the Inbox is now gone, replaced instead by the Portal.
As per an official blog post: “The Portal will be a richer window to the wider footballing universe. It’ll give you far better tools to develop your story through the Agenda and Messages sections, but also deliver you more insight into what’s happening elsewhere via News and Matches.”
You can see a work in progress screenshot of the new Portal below:
The development team also shared a work in progress look at the in-match screen which will show between highlights. Check it out below:
Finally, the Premier League is officially licensed in FM25! Expect official branding, player photos and more to make FM25 even better than previous entries.
Is there an FM25 trailer?
There isn’t an FM25 trailer that shows off the game as of yet, but there is a Football Manager 25 Premier League licence reveal trailer, which you can check out below:
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