Most football video game fans of a certain age where always split down the middle – FIFA or Pro Evo?
It divided friendships and shaped the footballing experience from the comfort of our own homes. Both have had facelifts in recent years – changing into EAFC and eFootball – but their dominance nevertheless has remained unchallenged. Until now.
After eight years in the making, UFL is finally ready for players to enjoy. The game, both available on Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X, was set for a September release before a last minute change of heart saw the public launch delayed for three months while developers sorted out the kinks. Gaming studio Strikerz decided to postpone the big day after receiving less than positive feedback from the last round of beta testing. Around 1.3m people played the first open beta in June, while the game has 838,000 followers on Instagram.
So what is all the fuss about? What can it offer that other football games can’t? And, more importantly, will it be any good? Record Sport is here to give you some back ground to the new gaming kid in town.
What is the UFL Game?
UFL is a brand new original football video game developed by gaming studio Strikerz. The game boasts itself as the ultimate football simulator in a similar set up to rivals EAFC and eFootball where the player controls the 10 outfield players on the pitch in a variety of modes.
The developers have made the game’s core selling point a skill-based game, appealing to those who favour step-overs and overhead kicks rather than tactic. The game will be free to play and the developers have labelled it ‘fair to play’, which means that players will be able to progress through it based on merit, rather than the controversial microtransactions that EA Sports users can purchase to build a squad in Ultimate Team. Around 5,000 footballers will be in UFL, but the majority of club teams are not licensed.
Strikerz is aiming to topple EA’s ‘pay-to-win’ regime, targeting a 15 million player base in its first year. UFL will be made available on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, while Strikerz has confirmed a PC release will arrive in 2025.
Why is Cristiano Ronaldo involved?
The game has got elite backing, make no mistake about it. A consortium involving Cristiano Ronaldo ploughed £32million into the game a year ago, but UFL wouldn’t reveal the total amount of investment. He is joined by Kevin De Bruyne, Roberto Firmino, and Oleksandr Zinchenko, who are acting as ambassadors.
CR7 is hoping his investment in UFL will help propel the new football video game to worldwide fame to rival the iconic EAFC. The fact his face is on the cover is, I’m sure, merely a coincidence. He was attracted to the ‘fair to play’ aspect, with the game being free to play.
When is the release date?
UFL will be made available on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on Friday, December 5, while Strikerz has confirmed a PC release will arrive at some point in 2025.
How much is it?
The game is FREE! Although I wouldn’t rule out in-game transactions for extra perks at some point in the future.
What do the reviews say?
Reviews are few and far between with many embargoed until closer to the release date. The Mirror gave the game three stars out of five claiming the gameplay was solid enough but a lack of playable modes really let the game down. They added that it “offers solid competition for EA FC 25 gameplay-wise, which is about as much as you can expect”.