EA and the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) had a long history of producing best-selling soccer games until their split in 2022, which led to the series being rebranded as EA Sports FC. Now, FIFA has announced a partnership with blockchain company Mythical Games to develop a new mobile game called FIFA Rivals. Although there is no trailer available yet, a teaser for FIFA Rivals has been released, indicating its expected launch in Summer 2025.
FIFA Rivals will feature head-to-head matchups with arcade-style gameplay and will be free-to-play. However, Mythical Games plans to incorporate in-game transactions through its blockchain technology to encourage players to 'enhance their lineups' by buying, selling, and trading for professional players. Mythical Games also confirmed that the game will include 'officially licensed [soccer] stars' from international clubs.
Earlier this fall, FIFA entered into a separate agreement with Konami for two different FIFAe World Cup tournaments. This contract is strictly focused on esports and will utilize Konami's eFootball for mobile and console competitions featuring players from around the world. Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer was once the main competitor to EA and FIFA's soccer franchise. However, FIFA and Konami did not reach an agreement to rebrand eFootball or release a new console game under the FIFA name.
With EA out of the picture, Konami and 2K are the most likely candidates for FIFA to partner with on console games, assuming FIFA decides to return to console gaming. Meanwhile, EA has managed to achieve comparable sales to the older FIFA games with its new EA Sports FC series.
Source link: https://www.gamespot.com
