2023 is set to be another interesting year for football gaming fans, with EA Sports due to launch their new game following the ending of their long-running agreement with FIFA. Yet, in this crowded market place it’s possible that another new game could make the biggest impact of the year and change the esports scene at the same time.
The Full Details of GOALS
The Swedish company GOALS is behind the upcoming game of the same name. This will be their first release and the man behind it is Andres Thorstensson, who has been Counter-Strike world champion in the past and who founded the successful SK Gaming sports team.
Given his background, it’s no surprise to see that the new football game is aimed at the esports market. Described as being the game that football deserves, it’s said to bring a “revolution” to this genre of sports games although little is known yet about the gameplay and other aspects.
The Series A funding round brought in a sum of $20 million, bringing the total amount raised for this project to $39 million, which they plan to use to fast-track the production process and release. Leading this leading funding phase was Seven Seven Six, the venture capital firm founded Reddit creator Alexis Ohanian. Other venture capitalists like Moonfiire and Northzone also got involved.
The team creating the game currently has about 50 members in it, including developers who have worked in the past on massive sports games such as the FIFA and Madden series. One of the uses for this latest funding is to expand the team up to 75 members by bringing in people for key engineering roles.
Is the Time Right for a New eSports Game?
The big question is whether the timing is right for this game. Many eyes are on the battle between the new EA Sports game and the as-yet-untitled FIFA game that will carry on with the hugely popular branding. In addition, the eFootball 2023 title from Konami has received a mixed reception.
Perhaps the biggest chance of success for GOALS comes down to the esports element. This industry is currently booming and the FIFA franchise has become a popular game for competitive players looking for tournament play, but there’s still a feeling that more football fans could be encouraged to play in this way.
The rise of esports betting as part of the sports betting industry is another sign of its growing popularity. Information on the Sportingtech website shows how the latest data is used to produce the latest odds on all types of sports bets. They state that over 35,000 esports events are covered monthly, alongside an ever-greater number of traditional sporting events.
It seems likely that esports continues to occupy a big share of the gaming market, and one of the genres with the most scope for growth is football. Therefore, the timing for GOALS seems right but we’ll need to wait to find out if it provides the gameplay and competitive edge that encourage players all over the planet to give it a try.
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