Summary
- FIFA partners with Algorand blockchain, but no mention of gaming
- FIFA and EA recently parted ways, calling an end to the EA FIFA game franchise
- FIFA has announced they will still make football simulators with 3rd parties
- EA has referred to blockchain gaming as the future of the industry
The news of an official partnership between FIFA and the Algorand blockchain — as announced by FIFA — has excited many in the space. In particular, gamers who either enjoy the FIFA series or understand its value to the industry and what it could mean to blockchain gaming.
Well, I am here to pour some cold water on that, but then to offer two glimmers of hope.
FIFA’s Untimely Partnership With Algorand
FIFA, world football’s governing body, has officially announced that Algorand will be their blockchain partner. Algorand is a green PPoS (Pure Proof of Stake) protocol that has already attracted over 2,000 organizations worldwide. It is founded by Silvio Micali, a Turing Award winner, cryptography expert, co-inventor of Zero-Knowledge Proofs, and frankly one of the most intelligent and able minds in our industry.
It is easy to see why FIFA why chose Algorand and that is certainly not the issue here. The issue pertains only to gamers and it is that FIFA’s partnership comes after their long-standing and fruitful unison with Electronic Arts comes to an end. Despite EA’s best offers for more exclusive FIFA gaming and esports rights, FIFA rejected them and as a result, FIFA 23 will be the last of that historic franchise.
EA will not let their prize pig wander off completely though, as they will rebrand the game EA Sports FC and, according to Reuters, have 300 licensing partners. The FIFA franchise may change — for all intents and purposes — in name only, therefore, as they retain the likes of the Premier League and UEFA among other high-profile licenses.
The Glimmers of Hope
The headlines bandied about have been misinterpreted by a lot gamers, which was arguably the intention of some outlets that reported the news. In reality, this partnership between Algorand and FIFA has almost nothing to do with games at all. Almost.
FIFA [is] also engaging with publishers, studios and investors on development of major new simulation football title for 2024
FIFA press release
The press release for the Algorand partnership didn’t explicitly mention any plans for its integration with future games, though it did mention Algorand’s proficiency for blockchain games.
The second glimmer of hope is EA and the rebrand of their FIFA series. EA has been outspoken on their belief in blockchain and NFTs; EA CEO, Andrew Wilson, grabbed headlines when in an earnings report, he referred to play-to-earn as the future of the industry. I have spoken before about how well the FIFA game’s pack openings will fit with NFTs, though this is likely a way off for EA Sports FC. Nevertheless, blockchain and NFTs are in EA’s long-term strategy.
