Something I never considered when FIFA and EAended their partnershipwas how this would affect the former’s own esports competition, FIFAe. With EA continuing its football game series asEA Sports FC, there’s no new, officially licensed FIFA game to take its place. So, for this year’s FIFAe tournament, the organisation has opted to runRocket Leagueinstead.
“This move signifies a major step in FIFA’s commitment to embrace the entire ecosystem and drive the global growth of football esports globally,” readsan announcement from FIFA. “The partnership brings the intensity and excitement of the FIFAe nations’ narrative to an electrifying new stage and allows players to fame their game in their nation colours. This inclusion represents a broader engagement with the community and embraces esports beyond traditional football simulations.”
Welcome to#FIFAe,@RLEsports! 🌟⚽The first-ever FIFAe World Cup featuring@RocketLeague🚀Which nation would you like to see compete? Let us know by commenting with your flag! 👀pic.twitter.com/3tMgwAPWVI
At first, this seemed a bit bizarre to me, butRocket Leagueis technically a football game. Sure, you’re driving cars around the pitch, but the aim is to knock a ball into the opposing team’s goal to score points. Plus, the game has remained incredibly popular since its 2015 launch and has cultivated its own esports scene, so it being the star of this year’s FIFAe tournament should help draw more attention to it, or at least help it capture a new audience.
An exact date for the tournament hasn’t been confirmed yet, but it will consist of 16 national teams, which will be chosen “based on the number of representatives from each country in previousRocket LeagueMajors.” Director of eFootball and Gaming at FIFA Christian Volk added, “The FIFAe World Cup featuringRocket Leaguemarks a new era for FIFAe, providing a groundbreaking platform for FIFA’s member associations to compete on one of the most relevant esports titles. This milestone partnership highlights our commitment to evolve our football esports ecosystem and continue to build the biggest stages for all communities to fame their game.”
I do wonder whether this will be a long-term partnership considering FIFA does have plans to release officially licensedFIFAgames again. After skipping 2023, it’s been claimed that FIFA hasformed a new deal with 2K, and that their first project together,FIFA 2K25, will launch later this year. If so, you’d think this would be the game FIFA would run for next year’s FIFAe tournament, unless it decides to have separate competitions for theFIFAgame andRocket League.
It would make sense for FIFA to pick 2K to helm newFIFAgames since it already has its own sports sims for basketball and golf, and 2K getting its own football series could make for some good competition withEA Sports FC. There’s little else challenging EA on that front, although the upcoming free-to-playUFLhad a very successful beta session earlier this month,with over one million players taking part.
