
This isn't a good look for what is supposed to be the start of a new era, and some genuine points can be raised to consider skipping FM25 altogether and move straight to FM26.
Let's take a moment to remind ourselves of the situation. There is great concern over the future of the Football Manager franchise and how they are moving to this new era. But there is no way to judge the new game just yet as nobody has their hands on the product, let alone seen any gameplay. This is not an article on specifically FM25, but rather the state of Football Manager and Sports Interactive.
Let's get back to the point - why is the FM community in such a state, reviews so negative in the announcement video and the reaction pushing further toxic when SI announced their latest delay to the next installment in the series?
Well... Miles and SI only have themselves to blame for this.
In my previous article about the announcement trailer, I've already talked about the large errors that SI and Miles have made over the past few editions. In a franchise which releases on an annual basis, it's really tough to continuously produce something brand new and exciting - however FM has essentially just felt like a glorified spreadsheet simulator with nothing really to show for it over the past few editions.
Lessons need to be taken on the communications coming from SI. It has been... woeful at best. It's hard to be excited over a new edition of a series when the continuous message coming from the developers are the removals of several features which have been left to rot for so long.
While something long-anticipated for many is finally making its debut in FM25 (women's football), it's hard to be excited when it is overshadowed by poor communication, a fanbase which is growing increasingly upset and frustrated over the state of the game, and minimal information and screenshots being released which don't highlight any key components or features of a game which is supposed to be "The New Football Manager Era".
This also leads to another point, how are all these content creators handing out pre-order links with this game delayed so far, or not even an announcement originally about the beta release? This is a terrible look for everyone involved.
I'll ask again, where exactly do we go from here? No idea, I'm not working at SI, nor am I Miles. From my point of view - even though I don't want to be - I'm growing angrier and more disappointed over this whole situation and where SI seems to be leading FM.
I am happy that they are taking the time to polish the product, it is better to take more time than to release an incomplete product.
However, Miles and SI need to be better than this. Patience does eventually run out.
Discussion: FM25 Delay Announcement Thoughts
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