The Federation Internationale de Football Association, or FIFA has joined forces with blockchain gaming studio Mythical Games to launch FIFA Rivals, a free-to-play soccer game set to hit Apple’s iOS and Android platforms in the summer of 2025.
Goal!
In FIFA Rivals, players will get to manage their own soccer clubs and compete against others in real-time arcade-style gameplay.
Mythical Games is pitching it as an opportunity to build your squad, dominate the competition, and create your legacy. Sounds like a dream come true for soccer fans, right?
John Linden, the CEO of Mythical Games, is pretty optimistic about the game’s potential, predicting that it could attract over 100 million gamers.
To put that in perspective, their previous game, NFL Rivals, already has over 6 million players from a much smaller audience.
Just think about it, because around 5 billion people tuned into the FIFA World Cup in 2022, while about 500 million watched the NFL playoffs last year.
Powered by blockchain, and now this isn’t just a buzzword
FIFA Rivals will run on the Mythical-supported Mythos blockchain and be secured by the Polkadot network.
This partnership is part of a growing trend where sports organizations are teaming up with blockchain gaming studios to create engaging experiences for fans.
What’s cool about blockchain games is that players can actually own in-game assets and monetize them in a play-to-earn economy.
So not only can you enjoy the game, but you can also make some money while you’re at it.
The golden team
Mythical Games has already made waves with its earlier title, Blankos Block Party, a social NFT game that has transitioned to Polkadot and currently sees around 3 million monthly transactions.
The new FIFA Rivals game was made possible thanks to the Mythos Foundation, which Mythical launched in October 2022.
This foundation wants to onboard new gamers and developers into its ecosystem while building cross-chain infrastructure and supporting gaming guilds.
In June 2023, Mythical secured $37 million in funding, which they’re using to boost their marketplace and explore other revenue-generating initiatives.
