Ronaldo-Backed Soccer Game Lands 1.3 Million Players in Beta

UFL is shaping up to be a solid competitor to EA FC, the game that was once known as FIFA. Recently, UFL underwent an open beta, and it was subsequently revealed that a whopping 1.3 million players found their way into the game in just a few days. The game, which is backed by the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo, could be mistaken for EA FC on the surface, but some users have reported how it feels more accessible and polished than an EA FC title.

On social media, STRIKERZ, the game’s developer, revealed a graphic showcasing a few basic statistics from the beta. It was highlighted that more than 5.5 million matches were played and a total of 9.9 million goals were scored across the beta weekend. The game was most popular in the UK, Brazil, Germany, France, and the United States, and of course, the most popular player was Cristiano Ronaldo.

Can It Compete?

EA FC – and previously, FIFA – has sat at the tip-top of the soccer table for several years. It has been the de facto bar for the genre, boasting an audience of tens of millions of users that make it one of the best-selling games annually, year after year. UFL wants to disrupt that monopoly, and if the beta weekend is anything to go by, it has a fair shot at doing so. In December 2023, Cristiano Ronaldo invested $40 million in UFL, which aims to be a ‘fair, skill-first’ soccer game.

STRIKERZ has been developing UFL for several years, with the first images of the production path appearing online in 2020. The company became a kit sponsor for Colchester United, an English soccer team, later in 2020. This created a humourous situation in which the Colchester United team appeared in EA’s FIFA wearing a jersey bearing the STRIKERZ logo. In January 2022, the game was officially unveiled, instantly rewarding STRIKERZ with a solid following and a lot of interest.

With all that being said, is there enough meat on the bones to compete with EA FC? Recently, FIFA revealed that it would like to create its own video game – so there’s more competition on the horizon.

For now, the feedback on the beta has been positive. One user wrote on Twitter: ‘It was fun even if the game isn’t near finished. We need this again!’ Some reported missing the game mere days after the end of the open beta, stating that eFootball (Konami) and EA FC 24 aren’t hitting the mark right now. There’s every opportunity for UFL to step into a dominant spot in the soccer genre right now.

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