Cliff Notes – First FIFA game in years lets you play as a cartoon moose
- FIFA is launching an arcade-style game, “FIFA Heroes,” featuring mascot characters like Maple the moose, diverging from traditional football simulations.
- Developed by the small New York studio ENVER, the game aims for a casual experience with unique moves for its cartoon animal characters, rather than focusing on real players or teams.
- The announcement follows EA’s decision to rebrand its football games as EA Sports FC after ending its FIFA licensing agreement, leaving FIFA to explore new gaming avenues.
First FIFA game in years lets you play as a cartoon moose
Ah yes, the world famous footballer… Maple the moose (ENVER/YouTube)
Instead of a traditional football sim, the FIFA organisation is planning an arcade style game full of mascot characters for 2026.
Back in 2021, EA decided it didn’t want to pay for the FIFA licence anymore (especially since the price had gone up to $1 billion), which led to its football games being rebranded as the far less catchy EA Sports FC.
As a result, the FIFA organisation itself promised it would offer its own officially licensed video games. However, aside from rumours of a 2K partnership, that have yet to go anywhere, FIFA has had nothing meaningful to share on the matter, allowing EA Sports FC to run unopposed.
That’s set to change in 2026, as FIFA has finally announced its first new video game. It’s not from 2K, though, and is far from anything football fans could have expected.
Dubbed FIFA Heroes and in development for PlayStation 5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch (no mention of Switch 2), Android, and iOS, the announcement trailer doesn’t feature any gameplay, with the big reveal being that you play as cartoon animals.
Specifically, the first handful of confirmed playable characters are Maple, Zayu, and Clutch, a trio of mascots designed for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Each one represents one of the three countries where the event is being held: Canada, Mexico, and the US.
It does sound like there will be actual footballers in the game, according to FIFA, but it seems FIFA Heroes is aiming to be a far more casual, arcade-like experience, as opposed to a football sim – especially with talk of unique special moves for the mascot characters.
Expert, exclusive gaming analysis
‘With dynamic physics and pitch-shattering power moves, master your tactical prowess and take on your pals in this 5-a-side extravaganza,’ says FIFA.
‘Build your dream squad with beloved football personalities, recognisable fictional characters and FIFA’s official mascots through the years, tackle PvE before going head-to-head with your mates. Take on arcade fast matches and challenges to progress your club through PvE career milestones!’
Curiously, FIFA’s chosen developer is ENVER, a New York City based studio that, according to its LinkedIn profile, only has upwards of 200 employees and has worked primarily on VR games.
It’s strange that of all the studios FIFA could have chosen to partner with, it’s picked a small developer that, judging by its portfolio, has no experience with console development and whose only sports games are racing related.
No doubt, the very straightforward explanation is that ENVER is cheap, whereas working with someone like 2K would not be. To go back to that rumour, parent company Take-Two acknowledged the rumours last year and had this to say about it:
‘… with regards to the FIFA licence, it does not bring along with it rights; it doesn’t come with players, teams, or leagues. So it’s not as simple, for example, as negotiating with the NFL, or the NBA, or MLB, where at most you have to negotiate with a league and a player’s association.’
Even if it didn’t say it outright, this suggests that Take-Two felt the asking price for the FIFA licence wasn’t worth it, since there’s still a lot it doesn’t include – namely the real players and teams which FIFA Heroes seems to lack.
Despite what the trailer suggests, the game is coming to consoles too (ENVER/YouTube)
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