Back in May, FIFA and EA officially ended their partnership after 30 years of exclusivity. At the time, FIFA said it would look at adopting a new commercial positioning in games and esports. FIFA 23 is the last game released under the old license agreement with EA. With today’s announcement, first reported by VGC, FIFA makes clear what they meant by their previous statement regarding repositioning within games. The first four FIFA-licensed titles since EA acquired the license in 1992 are all “Web 3.0” blockchain games.
The first of the announced games is AI League: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Edition by Altered State Machine. Players will see a 4-on-4 casual soccer match controlled by AI with “player input at fun and tactical moments.” At launch, Altered State Machine will run a 10-week prediction component that rewards players with prizes, both digital and physical, for correctly guessing the results of real-world matches. By participating in the prediction game, players will unlock 4 unique collectibles to use while playing the main AI league mode.
The other title is FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in Upland Metaverse which links to Upland blockchain based metaverse. Players will be able to travel to a virtual recreation of the World Cup Lusail Stadium and Village in the UpLand metaverse to purchase digital goods and collectibles. As part of the UplandMe/FIFA partnership, users will also be able to unlock official digital assets, including “legendary video highlights from the tournament.”
The third game is another collaboration with an existing app, this time it’s Phygtl, a fan engagement mobile app. FIFA fans at Phygtl can “amplify a Golden Globe soccer ball from the palm of their hand into their real-life environment, own a limited fragment of it to pin and immortalize their hand-picked FIFA World Cup photos and video moments.” As FIFA stated, digital goods on Phygtl are a “representation of eternal fandom”.
The latest, and probably just as disappointing for longtime fans of EA’s FIFA titles, is MatchDay Challenge: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Edition. Matchday is described by FIFA as a “highly engaging casual social prediction game based on football cards.” Although not detailed, the MatchDay Challenge will include some sort of functionality that will allow users to see who is the best among their friends.
In announcing the split with EA, FIFA mentioned several games that were in production and would be available by the end of the year. It is now clear that FIFA was referring to the four blockchain titles announced today. Meanwhile, EA has signed a deal with La Liga under the new EA Sports FC banner which will replace the annual FIFA title.
