The latest update in the popular Football Manager series has been cancelled, its makers have announced.

Fans of the long-running video game began to speculate about its fate when an update due to be unveiled late last month did not arrive.

In a blog post, developer Sports Interactive told players it had made the “difficult decision” to cancel the 2025 edition as it was “too far away from the standards you deserve”.

It said it would now shift focus to the 2026 version of the game and fans who had preordered the cancelled release could obtain a refund.

Football Manager, first launched in 2004, allows fans to step into the shoes of a gaffer and guide a chosen team through a season.

Sports Interactive had promised a range of upgrades to the game’s visuals and interface in the next edition, and also introduced women’s teams for the first time.

The developer previously told BBC Newsbeat it had to build a new stats database and record new motion-capture sequences for female players.

It also announced it had scaled back its international management mode and removed or paused work on some other features seen in previous games.

Sports Interactive said it was unwilling to push the game back beyond March “as it would be too late in the football season” to do so.

The company apologised to fans and said it could not announce the delay sooner due to financial regulations and obligations to its shareholders.

“Every effort is now focused on ensuring that our next release achieves our goal and hits the quality level we all expect.

“We will update you on how we are progressing with that as soon as we are able to do so.”

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays – or listen back here.