Soccer’s popularity transcends nations and cultures; it makes sense that the same should also be true of a video game based on that sport. And while EA Sports’ FIFA Soccer games are among the highest selling games every year, their sales still represent a minuscule fraction of the total following for soccer worldwide.
Well, EA looks to be changing that by developing a soccer game that is fundamentally going to be more appealing to larger and more varied audiences than its FIFA Soccer games. Polygon reports that EA Sports will be releasing FIFA World, a PC exclusive free to play soccer game in Brazil and Russia- arguably two of the largest soccer playing nations in the world, and yet with extremely low console penetration (FIFA Soccer games traditionally target consoles over PCs).
FIFA World includes EA’s uber successful FIFA Ultimate Team mode, along with Seasons; it also has more than 30 official leagues and more than 600 clubs. The leagues include the Russian Premier League, and the nineteen Brazilian clubs recently announced for inclusion in FIFA 14.
“Brazil and Russia are priority markets for EA Sports and especially our FIFA brand. We are excited to bring to these markets a custom-built, free-to-play PC experience developed around FIFA Ultimate Team,” EA Sports’ senior vice president and group general manager Matt Bilbey said.
We’ll keep you posted on more developments.