The global footballing federation FIFA has announced its return to gaming with the free-to-play mobile experience FIFA Rivals. Mythical Games, the developers behind NFL Rivals, will release the new title in the summer of 2025. The game will use Mythical’s Web3 blockchain technology as part of a digital marketplace to buy, sell, and trade football players.
The reappearance of the FIFA name in video games comes after the disbandment of EA Sports’ long-running yearly FIFA series, which ran for almost 30 years and included over 40 titles. This collaborative project sold hundreds of millions of copies worldwide and consistently retained a place in the most purchased games of the year. After EA Sports and FIFA failed to agree on a new licensing deal after FIFA 23, the discontinuation of the collaboration was announced. FIFA president Gianni Infantino thereafter promised a new premier gaming experience that would be the best available for football fans.
What Is FIFA Rivals?
New Football Mobile Game Meets The Crypto Market
As announced by the football governing giant FIFA, FIFA Rivals looks to feature very similar gameplay to its namesake's longtime predecessor, and now competitor, EA Sports. Players will be able to create and manage their own football clubs, and then use their chosen club to compete in PvP matches. No gameplay footage or trailers have been released yet, but the arcade-like experience of quick competitive matches is reminiscent of other soccer gaming simulations like Konami's eFootball and the bestselling EAFC.
Konami Has Officially Replaced EA As FIFA's New Esports Partner
After years of working with EA, FIFA is turning to Konami to run the FIFAe World Cup Football tournament with the publisher's own eFootball game.
The main difference in FIFA Rivals from its competitors comes from its inclusion of the Web3 blockchain marketplace, which developers Mythical Games were the first to include on Android and iOS. This cryptocurrency technology includes the purchasing and ownership of in-game assets like non-fungible tokens (or NFTs) with a decentralized marketplace. Mythical Games has previous experience with the similarly titled NFL Rivals, suggesting that its footballing compatriot will feature a similar marketplace to buy and own football players, in exchange for real money.
Our Take: Another Pay-to-Win Mobile Game For Football Fans
It's Likely To Appeal To A Niche Player Base
Based on the fan from NFL Rivals, it seems that FIFA Rivals will continue the trend of egregious pay-to-win microtransactions in football games. Fans of Mythical Games' NFL mobile game boycotted the game at one point, with Reddit Arrogantyak2 stating that "Mythical keeps releasing broken packs or making unachievable rewards if you're not willing to spend 1000s." Gamers can most likely look forward to a similar experience in the soccer blockchain game.
FIFA Rival should not be confused with EAFC's Ultimate Team Rivals, which is the very similarly named title of EA Sport's competitive game mode.
The Web3 gaming cryptocurrency experience is still a relatively unknown one, but as the marketplace in similar games like EAFC is essential to the overall experience, gamers will have to wait to see how essential microtransactions will be to the overall game. Currently, it seems very unlikely that FIFA Rivals will topple EA Sport's dominance as the premier football video game or even its mobile compatriot, EA Sports FC Mobile Football. A niche market of crypto-enthusiasts and football fans may find some enjoyment out of it, but gamers will have to wait until the summer of 2025 for more information on FIFA Rivals.
