FIFA’s president promised that there would continue to be games bearing the governing body’s name even after EA moves on to do its own thing, and now soccer fans have a better idea of what those games will be. FIFA has revealed that four games featuring the four letters are coming soon, all of which are Web 3.0 titles and use blockchain technology.
FIFA issued a press release today (thanks, VGC) revealing news and details about the first four matches of a post-EA era. “The new game integrations, all designed with web 3.0 and the future of digital engagement in mind, can be played around the entire tournament and each has a unique twist on the world’s biggest soccer tournament,” the release said. The tournament it refers to is the upcoming 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
First up is a game called AI League: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Edition. Captivating. Developed by Altered State Machine, AI League will pit two teams of four AI-controlled players against each other with actual players intervening in “fun and tactical moments”. It will also include a 10-week prediction component at launch where players will be challenged to predict the results of real matches with digital collectibles awarded to the winners.
Also on the list of FIFA’s upcoming blockchain games is a trip into the metaverse. Titled Upland Metaverse, with appropriate FIFA branding attached, the game will allow players to buy and sell virtual properties, presumably themed after the World Cup. Another prediction game called Matchday Challenge is also coming soon, and finally FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 on Phygtl where “fans can expand a golden globe football from the palm of their hand into the real world”, whatever that means.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino loudly stated that FIFA games would continue without EA, and this may be a glimpse of what he meant by that. Infantino hinted that these World Cup-connected games were already in the pipeline when he said so, so the good news is that whatever FIFA has up its sleeve to face EA Sports FC is still in the works.
