There’s no new FIFA game, so of course they’re hosting a World Cup in Rocket League instead
The end of EA’s decades-long FIFA deal in 2022 means there’s currently a FIFA-shaped hole in the world of video games that isn’t quite filled by EA’s not-FIFA replacement EA Sports FC 24 and is yet to measure up the efforts of whoever the footballing organisation gets to make the next officially licensed FIFA game. So, naturally, FIFA is looking to help plug that gap in the meantime by hosting a virtual World Cup in car-football game Rocket League.
The Rocket League World Cup will run later this year as part of FIFA’s wider ‘FIFAe’ effort to break into the world of esports, which their website tells me they’ve been attempting to do since a FIFA Interactive World Cup held in 2004. Nowadays that consists of online competitions played across EA Sports FC, Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer successor eFootball and Rocket League, which already runs its Championship Series through the initiative.
The upcoming World Cup will see 16 nations face off in a global tournament, with each country able to put forward three players and one substitute as their representatives on the pitch. The participating nations will be selected through a combination of their player base - in other words, how many people play Rocket League - and based on the past performance of their fellow local players in Rocket League competitions. Those countries will also have the chance to run local-level tournaments to help find their nation’s top players.
Welcome to #FIFAe, @RLEsports!
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