FIFA partners EA rival Konami for eFootball World Cup: All details

Despite ending its long-standing partnership with EA, FIFA is still involved in the video game world. The soccer governing body has teamed up with Konami to host two editions of the FIFAe World Cup within the console and mobile versions of eFootball later this year. This collaboration comes after EA and FIFA parted ways in 2022, ending a nearly 30-year relationship. EA's football games now operate under the "EA Sports FC" banner, starting with EA Sports FC 24 released this year.

The qualifying rounds of Konami’s FIFAe World Cup tournaments within eFootball have already started. Eighteen FIFA member associations, including India, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, England, France, Indonesia, Japan, the Korea Republic, Malaysia, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Thailand and Turkey will compete for the championship title on both console and mobile versions of the game. These countries were selected based on previous performances of esports competitors from those countries as well as the eFootball player base in each.
This collaboration marks a significant step in FIFA's esports strategy, adding eFootball to its roster alongside Rocket League and Football Manager. While the future of their partnership remains uncertain, this move could potentially lead to a larger collaboration, with Konami possibly becoming FIFA's official licensed partner for major soccer games.
Despite EA Sports FC's dominance in the soccer simulation genre, eFootball remains its closest competitor. It reportedly had a peak concurrent Steam player count of 17,610 over the last 24 hours, compared with 98,400 for EA Sports FC 25.
Meanwhile, EA retains its extensive network of over 300 soccer partners and holds exclusive agreements with major leagues like the Premier League, MLS, La Liga, Bundesliga, and Serie A, ensuring that the core gameplay and familiar elements remain intact.