Football Manager: Losses quadruple after game cancelled
Losses quadrupled at Sports Interactive after its decision to cancel the release of Football Manager 25, it has been revealed.
The London-headquartered video game maker has posted a pre-tax loss of £8.5m for the 12 months to 31 March, 2025, according to new accounts filed with Companies House.
The latest total comes after the business also lost £2.1m in the prior year.
Sports Interactive’s turnover was also slashed from £72m to £47.8m as a result of the decision.
The company said: “While challenging, this step allowed the studio to focus on the quality of the series for future growth, ensuring the long-term sustainability and quality of one of Sega’s most important franchises.”
The latest edition of the series, Football Manager 26, was released earlier this month.
Sports Interactive was founded by brothers Oliver and Paul Collyer in 1994 and was acquired by Sega in 2006.
Football Manager maker issues tariffs warning
In a statement signed off by the board, Sports Interactive said: “2025 was seen signs of recovery for the video games market, driven by the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 and the strong mobile market.
“After a period of increased costs and economic pressure there are signs of renewed consumer interest.
“There are significant large tentpole releases planned in 2025 and 2026, so many in fact that there may be a risk of market saturation.
“Crowded launch calendars risk diluted marketing impact and shorter engagement windows for mid-tier releases.”
The maker of Football Manager added: “The directors are closely monitoring the evolving landscape of US trade tariffs, which have been imposed on numerous countries globally.
“These tariffs are expected to drive up consumer prices in the United States, potentially affecting not only the US video games market but also broader market conditions.
“The ripple effects may extent to global economic factors, introducing further uncertainty.”
Hundreds of jobs cut at Sega-owned studio
The results for Sports Interactive come after The Creative Assembly, which is also owned by Sega, cut 300 jobs amid a major restructuring during its latest financial year.
The studio – behind the likes of the Total War and Aliens franchises, slashed its headcount from 683 to 383 in the year to 31 March, 2025.
New accounts filed with Companies House also show the firm’s turnover fell from £149.2m to £94.8m.
However, it went from making a pre-tax loss of £3.4m to a pre-tax profit of £52.9m over the same period.