FIFA Reveals Controversial New Partnerships Following End of EA Partnership

By Marc Deschamps

After a public split with Electronic Arts, the FIFA organization has started to announce several new gaming partnerships to tie-in with the World Cup Qatar 2022. As a result, soccer fans can expect "a portfolio of new future-focussed web 3.0 games to entertain and engage a wider group of fans." According to the press release from FIFA's website, the partnerships represent an effort to grow in "new digital spaces." There will be four of these "gaming integrations" in total, with an emphasis on the Metaverse and blockchain technology. These new ventures include:

  • Altered State Machine – AI League: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Edition
  • Uplandme – FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in the Upland Metaverse
  • Matchday – Matchday Challenge: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Edition
  • Phygtl – FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 on Phygtl

Readers interested in learning more about these games can do so right here. All in all, it's... an interesting group. Concepts like blockchain and the Metaverse have been controversial with gamers, and it's hard to say what kind of interest FIFA fans will have in any of these gaming experiences. FIFA president Gianni Infantino hinted at these types of collaborations back in May, when the organization released a press release about its plans following the split with EA. These types of experiences are not meant to take the place of the actual FIFA series, however; that same press release also indicated that the organization plans to move ahead with FIFA 24 under a different developer.

The partnership between FIFA and Electronic Arts officially came to an end following the release of FIFA 23. The two companies had a public dispute over licensing fees, which led to EA announcing that future soccer games from the company will now go by the name "EA Sports FC." As a result, soccer fans should have two different titles to look forward to next year, but it remains to be seen whether fans will stick with the FIFA name, or the EA branding.

What soccer/football game do you plan to purchase in the future? Do any of these FIFA collaborations appeal to you? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!

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