World Cup AI League, a 4v4 soccer strategy game, has just been released by FIFA in open beta. The game uses artificial intelligence (AI) for its characters, visuals, and gameplay components. The open beta for the game is a more developed version of the World Cup prediction game that was released back in November.
The smartphone game was created by Web3 AI company Altered State Machine and is now accessible on Android, with an iOS release scheduled very soon. Reflecting on the goal of the game, the Altered State Machine co-founder Aaron McDonald, “Our mission is to lead casual gamers into the world of AI gaming in the metaverse, and with FIFA’s AI League, we are unlocking a unique new opportunity for football fans around the globe to interact with their favourite sport.”
The characters from the game will be turned into NFTs when it makes its debut, and going forward, all characters will be represented by it. The report explained that the firm wants the user experience to seem seamless and doesn’t want gamers to be unduly focused on or distracted by the NFT aspects, therefore its deployment will happen later.
Looking upon the technicalities and graphics, these characters will be brightly coloured and cartoonish, which shall evoke the feel of a Pixar film or the hit computer game Fall Guys. AI determines the characters’ motions as well as their own strengths and limitations.
Just like in fantasy football, the users take on the roles of team coaches and owners. There are presently maps in the game that are modelled after locations abroad, like Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Yaoundé, and Seoul.
Despite the fact that AI League is a free-to-play game, it will soon be joined by an NFT marketplace. This particular tactic of releasing games in a conventional “Web2” version without NFT or crypto elements and then adding them later has been deployed by many leading developers that’s growing more popular in the Web3 area.
Another notable aspect to this game is its absence of football stars like Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, who both have sponsorship and marketing agreements with businesses in the cryptocurrency sector.
FIFA has been active in the crypto world from choosing its sponsor for its big event from the sector to actively joining hands with Web3 game studios in order to model an NFT platform. This also includes the launch of an NFT collection titled “Visa Masters of Movement,” where fans can engage in the bidding process using it. Such plans are intended to bring in more football viewers to the market using the flagship event worldwide.
Although the current edition is just on smartphone platforms, it is expected to be seen later in their flagship games as well. Thus, the governing body which determines global football has put its stance in regard to the market attracting many more users to it.