Computer software group Eidos, the creator of the Tomb Raider games, said today it was delaying the launch of a key product for at least two months and might miss a pre-Christmas release.

Championship Manager 5, a fantasy football game, was originally due to be released this month in PC format. Eidos said today that it was "continuing to work towards release of the PC version of the game shortly before Christmas, although this may extend into the New Year".

It added that other formats of the game remained on schedule for release next spring.

"They've delayed before and this is symptomatic of the troubles they're in," said Simon Davies, an analyst at ABN Amro.

Eidos is the UK's biggest computer games maker, but it has been struggling to persuade the industry that it is not a one-hit wonder after its success with the Tomb Raider games, which feature Lara Croft.

The Wimbledon-based company blamed disappointing US sales and the delayed release of another game for annual losses of £2m in the year to June, a year after it had posted profits of £17.4m.

The group, which employs around 270 people, has been looking to find a buyer since posting the loss, and confirmed today that it was still in talks that might lead to a takeover.

Eidos is "currently in the process of selecting a preferred counterparty", the company said, adding that "there can be no certainty at this stage whether or not this will lead to an offer being made for the company".

There has been speculation that US rivals Electronic Arts and THQ could mount bids.

Analysts gained solace from the announcement that talks were ongoing, and Eidos shares - which fell sharply last week when rumours of a delay first surfaced - had slipped just a penny to 91.5p by 12.30pm.