$500 million worth Cristiano Ronaldo invests in new football game set to rival EAFC

The new game is free to play and doesn't have a single in-game-purchase to improve a player's team.

$500 million worth Cristiano Ronaldo invests in new football game set to rival EAFC

Cristiano Ronaldo invested $40 Million in Ultimate Football League (Image via Goal.com and Instagram)

Cristiano Ronaldo has a history with FIFA, often being one of the highest-rated players in the game, and was also on the cover for 2 editions of the games, FIFA 18 and 19. But in FIFA 19 he was replaced by Neymar Jr., Paulo Dybala, and Kevin de Bruyne. Many thought it was because of him being accused of sexual assault, but EA claimed it was to give attention to bigger stars. 

Four years later, FIFA was renamed to EA FC 24, with Erling Haaland on the cover page. The game is heavily criticized by fans and critics for various reasons, especially with their pay-to-win model. Many others complained that their changes in career mode made things worse as well. 

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For years many video game developers were looking to create a game to rival EAFC’s monopoly in the football game segment. The biggest rival as of now is Konami’s eFootball, which has not been received well. Seeing an opportunity, Ronaldo has decided to invest $40 million in Ultimate Football League, or UFL, a free-to-play football game developed by Strikerz. Inc. 

FS Video
Having Cristiano Ronaldo join us as a partner and investor is a significant step forward and an endorsement of our vision to create the leading game for football fans in the world...while continuing to engage with future investors, to create a game that fills a gap in the football gaming market by unifying a rich gaming experience with continuous progress and a fair approach
Eugene Nashilov, Strikerz. Inc.’s CEO on Ronaldo’s involvement

The game is already affiliated with clubs like West Ham United, Monaco, Sporting CP, Besiktas, and Rangers. They have partnered up with FIFpro to attain the licenses of over 65 thousand players as well. 

The game claims that it is a free-to-play game that doesn’t include any pay-to-win elements, like EAFC24. The game has already roped in Kevin de Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Roberto Firminio as ambassadors as well. 

When will the Ultimate Football League release? 

UFL has been under production since 2016 but was finally announced in 2021. Striker. Inc. claimed that the game was developed to ensure fair play between players and the pure skill needed to win games. Along with that, UFL was completely free for consoles like PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC. 

Ultimate Football League
An in-game-footage of Ultimate Football League (Image via Instagram)

The game’s trailer was released in August 2021, with a release date of 30th August 2022. Due to some complications, the game was postponed to 2023, but there have been no official updates regarding the release dates. As of now, the game is undergoing closed testing, with players playing it around the world.

Although there aren’t any dates confirmed for its release, it has been hyped up as a potential rival to EAFC and eFootball. Along with UFL, many developers are creating their free-to-play football, such as Man of the Match. 

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