5 annual franchises of sports video games with massive fanbases
Sports and video games often go hand-in-hand. Both aim to entertain the masses by allowing them to live vicariously through the experiences of others.
With the growing popularity of video games and esports as a form of digital entertainment, it comes as no surprise that sports franchises have started investing in this domain.
Sports video games are often released on an annual basis. This sales model helps publishers monetize the yearly seasonal roster changes.
The games offer minimal changes across the various iterations, but the enthusiasm of sports fans ensures that they are commercially successful every year.
Football is known as the world's sport for good reason. It is the most popular sport, with the Champions League final being the most viewed sporting event annually. This popularity translates over to video games as well.
Developed and published by EA Sports, the FIFA series has been a staple of the sports gaming industry since 1993. It is the most commercially successful franchise in sports gaming, selling millions of copies every year.
The Ultimate Team game mode has been EA's cash cow since its inception in 2009. The in-built microtransactions in this game mode capitalize on the franchise's popularity and generate a considerable percentage of EA's annual revenue.
With the company losing its FIFA licensing soon, FIFA 23 will possibly be the last title in the series with the FIFA name attached to it. It will be interesting to see the direction the franchise heads in once these changes happen.
Originally known as John Madden Football, the Madden NFL franchise has been releasing video games annually since 1988, making it one of the longest-running series in all of gaming.
Despite the relatively limited demographic of
Read more on sportskeeda.com
