The World Cup Is No Longer Played the Same Way: The Void Left by Its Official Video Games
From France ’98 to EA Sports FC: how the breakup between FIFA and EA brought a generational tradition to an end.
I have followed football for almost my entire life, but it was not until the 1994 World Cup, held in the United States, that a genuine fondness for the tournament truly took shape. Still, it was in France ’98 when the greatest celebration in the sport crossed paths with my other great passion: video games.
A World Cup video game?
The second half of the 1990s marked a turning point for the video game industry. The leap to 3D, greater creative freedom, and increasingly eye-catching titles defined a period of accelerated growth. I vividly remember how, in 1996, International Superstar Soccer 64 became a must-have for any kid who loved football. It had no licenses or real player names, but an entire afternoon spent editing teams—magazine in hand, trying to replicate real players—was more than enough. There were no official tournaments, just an International Cup whose meaning was obvious. We were happy with very little, and we knew it.
By 1997, EA Sports had already made waves with FIFA: Road to World Cup 98. The title itself anticipated the arrival of the next World Cup, but it also incorporated real life music like the ones we heard on the radio or watched in music videos, taking a firm step toward the future. Still, it was in the summer of 1998 that everything truly clicked. I remember seeing World Cup 98 in a store and thinking that, even though I already owned a football game on my Nintendo 64, this one was different. Real names, official stadiums, and—by the standards of the time—the closest thing to authentic kits and recognizable players. Beyond a few earlier attempts, there was nothing comparable. That is how a tradition was born for the company.
Every four years, the World Cup video game became a tradition. If you didn’t buy it, you’d find a friend who had it or, back then, rent it. It’s impossible to forget those high school days of waking up early to watch matches and then getting together in the afternoon to play during the 2002 Korea–Japan World Cup. Or that LAN party in 2006, back in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 era, playing the 2006 Germany World Cup game in the wee hours of the morning, with the first steps of HD and players who looked like they were covered in plastic. Or those college years, organizing impromptu tournaments in 2010 over pizza and beer.
2014 was particularly important. I was starting my first job in the video game industry, and I remember asking the editor-in-chief for the chance to review 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, something that was easy to secure in a newsroom with little interest in sports. That game led me to reflect on what these special editions truly represented. They were the legacy of the most important football tournament in the world, but also a clear demonstration of how technology advanced every four years: from the basic-texture kits of France ’98 to the level of detail in Brazil 2014, with clearly distinguishable brands and models. They also functioned as a digital archive of each World Cup—graphic identity, schedules, balls, stadiums—and as an enormous licensing effort. An interactive historical record, and a tool to simulate matches and more or less guess whether your prediction pool might pan out.
By 2018, the landscape had changed. With Russia just around the corner, the absence of an official announcement began to raise concerns. The surprise came in the form of a free DLC for FIFA 18, which integrated a full World Cup module with new stadiums, balls, and stat updates, keeping the tradition alive—albeit in a different way.
The beginning of the end
Like everything that begins, it also comes to an end. In 2022, the inevitable was confirmed: FIFA and Electronic Arts did not renew their contract, and FIFA 23 became the last title in the franchise. The Qatar World Cup update delivered much of what was expected, but included only two stadiums. It was then that, without realizing it, we began to lose something bigger.
This year, the contrast is clear. EA Sports FC 26 received The World’s Game update, with updated national teams and kits—though not all of them—and a couple of stadiums that will be used during the tournament. However, despite featuring more than 130 stadiums, there is no representation of a Mexican venue due to licensing issues, Yet the Azteca Stadium, which held two World Cup finals, with lPelé and Maradona, World Cup winners... Man... While it is understandable that many official visual elements cannot be used, the complete absence of a tournament calendar or the real match order is striking.
Yes, FIFA recently released a World Cup game in collaboration with Netflix, but saying it received unfavorable reviews would be an understatement. Football Manager also managed to secure the tournament license, although its tactical and administrative focus places it far from those looking for a social, couch-based experience with friends.
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There is no other way to put it: we did not realize how much we had lost until now. FIFA’s greed ultimately stripped us of a tradition that, for decades, was an inseparable part of every World Cup. And it is an absence that will be deeply missed.
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